Fernando Alonso Opens Up On Harsh Reality At Aston Martin With 'Inferior Weapons'

Fernando Alonso has opened up about his harsh reality at Aston Martin, saying that he has been left fighting with "inferior weapons" against a tighter Formula 1 grid that saw him struggle greatly in 2024.

The Silverstone outfit experienced a challenging year with the AMR24 F1 car since its attempts to enhance the car's performance through several upgrade packages proved ineffective. The issue is attributed to correlation problems, where the wind tunnel data failed to match the car's on-track performance.

While Aston Martin showcased impressive performances in the opening races of the 2023 season with Alonso securing eight podium finishes, the 2024 season saw him struggle to finish within the points as a result of car problems.

The Spaniard suggested in a new documentary by DAZN Spain, as reported by Planet F1, that he possesses all the skills needed to overcome any on-track challenge, recalling an example from his early karting days. However, he stressed that lacking a fast car has become the story of his life. He said:

“Since I was a child, I’ve only had a kart.

“In Asturias it rains a lot [and] when it rained, all the kids put on rain tyres and I raced on dry tyres, because we didn’t have the money to buy rain tyres.

“And that carries over to this day.

“Here we all have the resources for rain tyres, but we don’t have the spoilers that Ferrari has, or the floors that McLaren has, or anything like that.

“It’s been a bit of a story of my life, racing with slightly inferior weapons to the others and adapting to what I could.”

With the infrastructure overhaul at Aston Martin's new facility in Silverstone, and the arrival of expert talent such as Adrian Newey, the 43-year-old driver acknowledged the need to remain patient to reap the rewards when everything falls in place. Alonso said after the 2024 season:

“Now I think we can reset, we can learn from all the difficulties and mistakes of this year and apply those learnings into next year's project.

“The new factory is now completed, also the new wind tunnel is going to be open soon. [New group CEO] Andy Cowell has already changed some of the weaknesses that he found in the team, so we have trust on the new management, and I think things are moving in the right direction, so I'm happy for that.

“But in Formula 1 there are not many miracles – you need to be patient, you need to find that sweet spot in the car, you need to find that upgrade that really awakens everything in these ground-effect cars.”