Alonso destroys the calculations of Aston Martin and F1

In Aston Martin They do not know how to explain what they have achieved Fernando Alonso in the final races. The Asturian driver won points in Zandvoort, Baku and Singapore with a car lower than its rivals in the central zone and that is not the result. And at Monza he was about to do it. And after a surprise again in qualifying on Saturday with another unexpected 7th place on the starting grid, in the race he did it again, finishing 8th against all odds. So, he had four races in a row where he was performing well on top of his engine.

Knowing that there were faster cars behind, Mike Krack, Team Principal of the Silverstone team, admitted that during the Sunday morning meeting they told the driver that the strategy data indicated that 9th place was the highest that I can reach in the race. But in the afternoon, Alonso again fought the computers and finished 8th, without benefiting from any retirement among his direct rivals. For pure situation management.

So he broke any predictions of the team and of F1 itself, which on Friday put the green car far from that goal, in a position more similar to that of his team-mate Stroll, who finished 14th in the race and -17 in qualifying.

“Alonso’s race result was better than the best result predicted by our strategy,” Mike Krack admitted before the ‘DAZN’ microphones.

“With Ferrari it was difficult because they had more speed and in general we could be happy. In the morning we told him that the best result is in 9th, and you are eighth without anyone (among the rivals) abandoned, so we have to be happy.”added the Aston Martin Team Principal, acknowledging that when the Asturian overtook Nico Hülkenberg in the pits, stopping in front of the German, followed by ‘Checo’ Pérez the Haas driver, they had no doubt that Alonso could hold in position against cars with more rhythm.

“If he’s storing something? We had this conversation, because he was talking about another strategy plan. ‘What do we do if we change the tires?’ I wasn’t worried, to be honest, because he was able to handle the difference and his tires. When Hülkenberg came out of the pit lane he had 7 seconds and had to push because Pérez was behind him, and Fernando managed the tires to have rubber at the end of the racehe commented.

“And when they got close to the DRS window we accelerated again. I think I got the situation under control”argument.

The key: tire management

In this way, Mike pointed out one of the keys to Alonso’s career: knowing how to manage the tires perfectly despite having an inferior car, knowing how important it is to have tires to defend oneself. If he has, he can do it with the help of walls, making himself spacious on a track where it is difficult to pass. And he followed that plan, without the maximum demands of the track on his physique and tires causing him.

In fact, Alonso himself highlighted that management as a key point:

“Overtaking is difficult, as always on street circuits, and it’s a bit of a game of who can keep the tires in tune the best. It’s the only way they can catch you, if you run out of tires. If we have some tires you can defend yourself and that’s the game for a little bit throughout the race. But hey, their races are also interesting because they are very tactical: you have to know when to pull and when not to, when to stop… we undercut Nico by stopping a few laps before, so I’m happy with the strategy. too.”

Another master class in reading the career of Alonso, a pure careerist. Another lesson in knowing what to do at all times to maximize results. He did so in qualifying, taking advantage of his rivals’ mistakes and making his turns in time to finish 7th. And in the race he once again did exactly what he had to do to defy reason and the predictions of the team’s computers. It borders on perfection in everything and that’s the only way to get points in that car. On tracks like this, hands can make a difference and Alonso did.

On Friday, the data indicated that it was not possible to score

“This is the best we can hope for. The best thing is to have Stroll there as well, but in the end “We have to say that we have a car that is not fast enough to finish there, and to do it in two races in a row is a great achievement and we have to be happy.”Mike Krack continued, emphasizing the miracle achieved by Alonso, yet another, with a car far from those positions.

In fact, F1 on Saturday placed it as the 8th best car by a lap and its placement in Q3 was something unexpected. And Alonso admitted it after the race: “All the rankings we have internally for the team indicate that we are the 7th or 8th team. So we have to be in the 15th or 16th position.that’s what we have in terms of benefits,” said Fernando.

“I spoke to Nico (Hülkenberg) yesterday after the time trial and he also told me that they (Haas) are the fifth team for them. If you talk to Williams, they are also the 5th team. So What is certain is that we are not the 5th best team and we have had two good performances in the last few circuits, but that cannot cover the lack of performance that we have. We know this, we want improvements and to see if we can do it in the next race,” commented the man from Oviedo, who, however, managed to achieve. make a difference to position your car as ‘the best among others’, behind the leading cars.

IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

“Will improvements come in later races?”they asked Mike Crack on ‘DAZN’. And the answer is yes. Aston Martin wants to take advantage of these three weeks without F1 races to finalize its new evolution package and prepare it for Austin or the next event. “Yes, yes. We continued working on the car and now have a long break that will allow us to finish everything and bring updates on the next races”Krack revealed.