After taking a fantastic five podiums from six races, the Spanish GP was somewhat underwhelming for Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin – as the AMR23 showed true limitations for the first time.
An early mistake in qualifying gave Alonso floor damage and complicated his weekend, although a good start put the Spaniard in 6th at the end of lap one and within striking distance of the front.
However, it became clear relatively quickly that – at least on the soft tyres – the Double World Champion had no answer for the Red Bulls or even the newly upgraded Mercedes.
Lance Stroll’s afternoon was similar, taking home a respectable P6 finish but lacking the performance to challenge a podium.
Mercedes seem to have unlocked significant pace with the most recent W14 updates, building upon their competitive early-season speed in race trim and showing encouraging signs for their new direction.
With this in mind, Fernando Alonso reflected on his afternoon in Barcelona, confident that Aston Martin can bounce back quickly with incoming updates:
“After starting quite far back, I was able to recover – but only up to a certain point. Both Russell and Checo were faster than us today, so there was a lot of work to do,” he told the media post-race.
“Looking at the Constructors, it’s true that Mercedes gained some important points, but we again gained points on Ferrari.
“In Canada, we’ll bring more things, and in Silverstone too… It will all depend on which team is bringing updates.
“Even then, with a normal qualifying, we would have started alongside Hamilton and could have had some better chances.
“I think it’s just one race – and then in Canada, we crush them.”
The feister part of Fernando Alonso’s statement was directed at Mercedes rather than Red Bull, with the Brackley squad taking an impressive step forward with the new sidepods to the W14 machine.
The Spanish GP was the first time Aston Martin’s cautious approach to development in early 2023 (focusing instead on understanding their very aggressive package) proved costly relative to their immediate rivals.
Aston Martin has planned their first significant updates for the upcoming Canadian and British Grand Prix, which will be a crucial sequence of races for the team’s progression in the development race.
A significant wind tunnel allocation and strong foundation with the AMR23 gives the Silverstone squad everything it needs to replicate the mid-season improvements they made throughout last season.
While describing last weekend’s race as a major concern would be an overreaction, it serves as a reminder that staying competitive with the top teams might be a bigger challenge than breaking free of the midfield.
Author: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
