Fernando Alonso says Aston Martin needs to analyze the difference between the last two performances.
The Aston Martin was not competitive in Belgium a week ago, but both cars in the top six in the hangar roll and race were qualified fifth and seventh, responding in impressive styles. Alonso says the characteristics of the different tracks alone do not explain performance differences, but emphasized the need for teams to understand competitiveness.
“That’s a surprise. It’s definitely a surprise,” Alonso said. “That’s a great surprise. The good thing is that we were competitive and we were fast. The concern is that we don’t know why.
“In a sense, this week we need to accurately analyze the difference between spa and Hungary. What is the difference between cars, in the setup, the difference in the aero devices we were racing.
Alonso says fifth behind the two McLarens, George Russell and Charles Leclerc were the best Aston Martin could achieve on Sunday after Rand Norris led a strong start for the spell before he easily overtakes.
“I don’t think we can go any further than this. Obviously someone said at one point the two McLarens were very close to each other. It’s even better, but that didn’t happen!
“There was nothing more on our side. The biggest threat was Verstappen at two stops (maximum) but then he did some traffic and finally relaxed a little more.”
Alonso’s surprise coincided with his teammate Lance Stroll. He crossed the line two seconds after sixth place Gabriel Boltreto.
“It was a great day for the team and a solid weekend from start to finish,” Stroll said. “To head into summer vacation with 16 points is a huge upside for us, but we don’t fully understand why there’s so much to learn from this weekend, as we don’t fully understand why there’s so much to learn.
“In the end, we need to be in a place where we can put our car in that window because we want to be more consistent with this level of competitiveness.”