Aston Martin experiences a belly flop in Formula 1 qualifying in Mexico: Fernando Alonso does not mince his words afterwards
Aston Martin was unable to translate its good form from Friday’s practice into a convincing qualifying result at the Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix in Mexico City. Fernando Alonso was highly critical of the team after finishing 14th, while teammate Lance Stroll disappointed again in 19th place.
“Without unusual circumstances in the race, it will be difficult. We don’t deserve the points at the moment because we don’t have the pace of the top 10,” the Spaniard said bluntly.
As has been the case several times this season, the AMR25 performed strongly in free practice. In the second free practice session, both drivers were in the top 10, but at the decisive moment, they once again lacked competitiveness. Stroll complained that the car “generally keeps falling further and further behind over the course of the weekend.” He explained: “I have no grip, none at all. This happens often. There’s good grip in practice, and then suddenly none at all in qualifying.”
Alonso agreed with his teammate and described the entire weekend as difficult. “We were slow all weekend,” said the two-time world champion. He pointed out that the weaker performance on Friday had already been a bad sign. “Normally, we are third or fifth on Friday. When I was only eighth, I knew it could be a tough weekend.”
The Spaniard went on to explain that the tracks in Mexico and Las Vegas were problematic for Aston Martin on paper. “Unfortunately, that has been confirmed. Mexico has always been difficult for us. We were last in 2023, last in 2024, and now we’re struggling again. There’s something about this track that we just don’t understand. Let’s see if Adrian [Newey] understands more next year,“ said Alonso, referring to the new technical director who joined the team in March.
Nevertheless, Alonso is hoping for a chance in the early stages of the race. ”The first three corners are very tight, actually too narrow for 20 cars. If there’s something to be gained there, we’ll give it our all,” he said.