Still reeling from the Canadian F1 Grand Prix and Fernando Alonso‘s best result with Aston Martin so far this season, the Grand Circus already has its sights set on the next race, which will take place in Austria on June 29. In principle, the AMR25 should not perform as well as it did on the North American track; after all, the Montreal circuit is one of the most favorable in the championship for the Silverstone team. However, there is confidence that the Oviedo driver can finish in the points again.
Fernando Alonso lifts Aston Martin
It has been a month since Aston Martin introduced its first upgrades of the season to the AMR25, and since that day, Fernando Alonso has made it into Q3 four times and scored points in the last two races. The Oviedo-born driver seems to be in top form, as evidenced by the performance of Lance Stroll, who only managed to get his AMR25 into Q3 in Italy, the first of the last four races, and has failed to score points in any of them.
It seems that Fernando Alonso is capable of getting the most out of a car that performs very well in qualifying but loses performance in the races. This deficit could be corrected at Silverstone in just under three weeks’ time, but for Austria, Aston Martin will have to make do with what it has, which is not insignificant given where they have come from.
Options for the Austrian Grand Prix
Aston Martin has gone from disaster to optimism, especially after Fernando Alonso achieved his best result of the season in Canada, finishing seventh—he could have climbed to fourth if the FIA had applied the regulations. However, it was already warned that Canada was one of the most favorable circuits for the AMR25, so in the next race, it will be time to suffer.
Given Fernando Alonso’s great performance on one lap, the Asturian is expected to finish in the top 10 again on Saturday, although it will be difficult for him to secure a starting position higher than ninth or eighth. Then Sunday will come, and it will be a different story. The Asturian driver has seen how, race after race, despite his high level, the car is not capable of more, and he has been losing positions as the race has progressed. Therefore, it is to be expected that for the Austrian race, he will be able to fight for points, but with no guarantee that he will get them.
This is the Red Bull Ring
The Red Bull Ring, where the next race will be held, is a 4.3 km long circuit with 10 corners and two very long straights that require traction and speed, which the AMR25 does not have. Although in the first two sectors there are fast corners that favor the car, the third sector is very technical with slow corners. In other words, it is a circuit that has everything, with areas that suit the AMR25 but others where its shortcomings will be noticeable.
Therefore, although it is not a circuit like Canada, the Red Bull Ring is a circuit where the AMR25 can perform well even if it has unfavorable sections. Fernando Alonso will have another opportunity to fight for a place in Q3 on Saturday and to fight for points on Sunday, but everything has to go right, as it has in recent weeks. Any complication could compromise a finish in the top 10 on the grid and, therefore, out of the points.