Fernando Alonso is already in Austria for the F1 Grand Prix, and he is optimistic about the race, but aware that the team will have to do something different given last year’s results. He also referred to the FIA’s decision not to penalize him in Canada, which would have moved him up to fifth or fourth place.
Options in Austria
Fernando Alonso is optimistic but realistic, as usual. You only have to look at last year’s race to keep your feet on the ground, although at the same time, he believes he is capable of improving on last year’s result.
“I’m always optimistic on Thursday when I arrive at a circuit. Looking at last year’s results and what we have from previous years, Austria was one of the worst or the worst performance of last year. So, it’s clear that we have to do something different from what we did in 2024.”
Unlike this year, last season, “it was a sprint weekend, so we didn’t have the three practice sessions to set up the car, but it was a tough weekend for us. So, yes, I’m taking this weekend with a lot of caution in terms of performance. I’m taking it very seriously.”
He insists on the importance of qualifying
Fernando Alonso has insisted on the importance of qualifying well. In the last four races, he has finished in the top ten on Saturdays and hopes to be close to that result. However, qualifying well on Saturday means lower performance on Sunday.
“The grid is very tight. So, if you start too far back, it’s difficult to overtake because your pace advantage will be no more than two or three tenths if you have a fast car on Sunday, and vice versa if you qualify well, because if you’re not able to maintain that pace, you lose two or three positions and the points are probably out of reach.”
As for the poor performance on Sundays, “we’re still investigating. I think we have some ideas as to why we’re a little worse or why the peak grip on Saturday with the tires is probably masking some of the problems we have, and the problems are a little more exposed on Sunday, and we have to deal with them.”
One of the issues to improve, and one that could come up at Silverstone, is aerodynamics. Fernando Alonso points to this as one of the main problems. For him, aerodynamics “always helps. And that’s the core of performance. You’ll always need a good car. And a good car comes to life on Sunday. On Saturday, as I said, you mask the problems because the grip is very high, the fuel is low, and you enter the corner at a speed that even the best car couldn’t go much, much faster. Whereas on Sunday, when the tires are older, you depend much more on downforce, and there it’s not the same compared to the best cars.”
“There are a couple of things, in the preparation of the tires, their management, some set-ups that also take more care of the rear tires and give you more benefit on Sunday than on Saturday, and that kind of thing. Maybe we need to put more emphasis on that compared to the last few races.”
Fernando Alonso and the penalties
Fernando Alonso has complained to the FIA about the clarifications to the regulations and the points on the drivers’ licenses. He regrets that in Canada, if the regulations had been applied, he could have finished fourth or fifth. He claims that “Last year I received three penalty points, well, the harshest penalty in the last 25 years, a 20-second penalty and three points on my license for a non-contact incident.”
As for the points, “I think they should be applied to dangerous driving, not to driving errors.”