Last Updated on November 30 2023, 7:53 am

Fernando Alonso now admits he’s disappointment with Aston Martin’s overall performance this F1 season and Lance Stroll’s contribution is under scrutiny. The team finished fifth in the constructors’ championship and their rise of two places from the previous season should indicate steady progress being made by the Silverstone team.

Yet the AMR23 was the talk of the paddock as Alonso claimed six podiums in the first eight races and was best of the rest behind the Red Bull pairing. The team brought a big upgrade to the Canadian Grand Prix and after the eighth race of the year in Montreal, Fernando was third in the drivers’ championship and just nine points behind Sergio Perez.

 

 

 

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The FIA then issued a technical directive over the use of flexible bodywork which would be enforced from Belgium onwards and suddenly Aston’s pace appeared to disappear.

Alonso blamed the unusual tyre compound change mid season from Pirelli, though paddock insiders believed this was not the cause of Aston Martin’s relative loss of performance.

Fernando was to make it to the podium just twice more in Zandvoort and Sau Paulo and his retirements from the race in Austin and Mexico affected the team’s battle with McLaren greatly

“Fifth in the constructors, it hurts a little bit because I think we were better than that,” said Alonso when reflecting on the season as a whole. “We were hoping better than that at the beginning of the year.”

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However, a strong display from the Spaniard at the season finale where he battled and out thought Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi meant his seventh place finish in the day/night race was enough for him to tie on points with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

And by virtue of “countback” Alonso was awarded fourth place in the driver standings ahead of the Monegasque, a position he last bettered when driving for Ferrari a decade ago in 2013.

The Spaniard has proven to be a marvel during Grand Prix races given his metal ability to understand what’s going on around him. He often gives feedback to his team from things he observes while hurtling past the huge TV screens placed around circuits for the spectators.

Yet in Abu Dhabi for once the Spaniards mental prowess left him as he claimed after the chequered flag he thought Leclerc had done enough to beat him.

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Fernando reveals Stroll lack of contribution

“When I saw Leclerc P2 on the big screen, I thought that he was in front [in the championship],” Alonso admitted. “But apparently we tied on points and he had more third places or something like that

“To finish fourth is a little bit of unreal, fighting with the guys that we were fighting,” he added. “This is completely unexpected, completely unreal to be fourth.”

Inadvertently Fernando then landed a blow on his team mate for his lack lustre contribution to the team’s efforts throughout the season.

“In fact, if we are fifth in the constructors’ then normally you should be ninth and 10th in the drivers’ [championship],” he observed.

“It has been a historic season for Aston Martin and for myself,” Fernando added. “Eight podiums, more than 200 points – I think 300 points nearly for the team – 12 months ago, this was unthinkable.”

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Alonso of course is a double world champion from his days at Renault when th eFrench owned outfit halted the run of six Ferrari constructor wins in succession. Yet Fernando rates his efforts in 2012 ahead of 2005/6 when at the time he became the youngest ever F1 champion.

“2012 and this season for me are the best in my career and a position that I could never imagine at the beginning of the year or with the car performance we had,” he said. “It’s a dream season for many at Aston Martin, including myself.”

Yet now as the dust settles on a frenetic end to the F1 year, what might have been for Aston Martin will be analysed in depth. While Fernando was reeling off the podiums for eight races, Lance Stroll failed to finish twice and was outside the points in Miami. His best effort during that time was a P4 and he racked up a meagre 34 points to Fernando’s 110.

Fernando finished the year in slightly disappointing fashion but he his 206 points scored was a triumph when compared to Stroll’s paltry 74.

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Stroll ‘lost his s**t”

Clearly his relative on track performance compared to his team mate came to a head for Stroll in Qatar when he crashed out of qualifying in Q1 for the fourth time in succession. As he extracted himself from his Aston Martin he ignored a directive to exit the front of the garage for the mandatory FIA weigh in.

He then shoved his performance coach through a doorway in a fit of rage and was later cautioned for his behaviour.

Minutes later Stroll appeared for his TV interviews and his unprofessional attitude led to suggestions his character was lacking. 

Asked about his emotions following his exit, Stroll just said: “Yeah, it’s shit”.

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He was then asked what was not clicking for him behind the wheel, to which he quipped: “I don’t know”.

And finally, when asked how he would respond to his shocking qualifying efforts, Stroll quipped with indifference: “Keep driving”.

Regardless, Lance – who knows his F1 drive is there as long as his father who owns the team allows it – was gracious when asked about his team mates overall first season with th team since leaving Alpine.

“He’s had an incredible season, for sure,” said the Canadian.

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Stroll praises Alonso’s efforts

“All those podiums, and he’s just been super-strong all year and really capitalised when the car was at its best,” he explained. “As a team I think just we lost out of a bit in the second half of the season for a big chunk.

Clearly Stroll forgets his lack of contribution over the first eight races where he lost on average almost ten points each weekend to the oldest driver in Grand Prix racing.

“Teams that we were quicker than – McLaren, even Mercedes, Ferrari – we were quicker than them a lot of those races, but they picked up their game and finished the season stronger than us,” continued Stroll.

“I think next year [we have to] try and come out with a car that’s very strong again out of the box, and then try and maintain that throughout the season a little bit stronger. I think that’s the goal.”

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Of course the numbers don’t lie and an improved car won’t beat the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes unless the team has two drivers sharing the workload.

While Stroll is rumoured to have a rolling 1 year deal authorised by his father, the performance engineers at Aston Martin will understand the reality of where the team could have been. They should have easily beaten McLaren who scored just 17 points by the time Aston Martin had racked up 144 after Montreal.

Whether Stroll Snr is interested in improving the team’s standings or employing his underperforming son will be known over the next few weeks.

At present there are no realistic F1 drivers with experience ready to replace Lance Stroll and whether the team would require a promising rookie is unclear, though McLaren have proven it can pay dividends in year 1.

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