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Disastrous weekend for Fernando Alonso: Slow car despite fastest race lap

P15 in qualifying and a P18 in the race: things went just as badly for Fernando Alonso in the Austrian Grand Prix as they did in Saturday's Sprint. His form is in the doldrums, and neither he nor Aston Martin seem able to find a way out of the crisis. Team-mate Lance Stroll is getting the upper hand in the internal team duel with increasing frequency. Having finished outside the points, Alonso wasn't even able to capitalize on setting the fastest race lap.

"I don't really have anything to say about a situation where we're fighting for P16 with two laps to go," said Fernando Alonso after being forced wide by Nico Hulkenberg on the uphill hairpin in the Sprint race. "I don't even care about a position so far back. He can have it!"

After the first eleven races in 2023, the 42-year-old had already scored six podiums. His best result so far in 2024 is a P5 in Saudi Arabia, and his last Top Ten finish came in Canada.

"I'm Spanish, and this is a sprint weekend. I'd better not be the one who gets into trouble," he says, firing a quick shot in the direction of the stewards. After all, Fernando Alonso had received the same penalty for the same maneuver in China - though it was three penalty points instead of two on that occasion.

One day later in the Styrian Alps, it's a similar situation. This time on lap 20, and this time it's Fernando Alonso who is the one penalized after his wheels lock up in Turn 3 and Zhou Guanyu is forced wide. The Aston Martin man took the blame for the collision: "That was my mistake."

Race control saw it the same way. However, Alonso was not overly concerned about the resulting ten-second penalty: "It didn't change the result, we weren't in the points anyway."

The poor pace of the AMR23 came as no surprise to the former champion, and the alternative three-stop strategy did not bring the desired success. Alonso eventually saw the checkered flag one lap down in P18. Apart from Lando Norris who registered a DNF, the only driver who came in behind him was Logan Sargeant.

"If you're not fast enough, 71 laps is a very long race," said Alonso. "The balance was slightly better than in the Sprint, but not enough. We have to understand that, we are clearly not fast enough, not competitive enough."

Fernando Alonso was at least able to record one success in Spielberg: on Lap 70, he pitted again for fresh soft tires and set the fastest race lap - his second of this Formula 1 season. However, he does not earn the extra point as he finished outside the Top Ten.

"I might as well answer your questions about Silverstone qualifying now," said the two-time world champion with grim humor on Saturday, after booking a lowly P15 on the grid. "I expected it, and Silverstone will be the same." And unfortunately, that will be in his team's home race - the Silverstone Circuit is less than ten minutes by car from the Aston Martin factory.