Fernando Alonso ends the season strongly in Abu Dhabi – but the Spaniard criticizes Aston Martin and cites the reasons for the many lows
Fernando Alonso once again showed his best side at the season finale in Abu Dhabi. The Aston Martin driver put in an aggressive first lap, battled with George Russell and Charles Leclerc, and ultimately secured sixth place. It was a result that satisfied the Spaniard, even if the overall season leaves him with mixed feelings.
“Yes, I’m happy with the race,” Alonso summed up after crossing the finish line. “Sometimes we’re fast on Saturday and not so much on Sunday. That’s why it was good to secure the position from qualifying and finish sixth.”
After finishing seventh in Qatar the previous week, this was a “strong finish” for the team, which earned a decent number of points. “I’m happy for the team. And now it’s time to finally focus fully on next year.”
Tactical games against the World Championship rivals
During the race, Alonso not only had his own position in mind, but also the situation in the Constructors’ Championship. Aston Martin was dependent on the support of teammate Lance Stroll and at the same time had to keep an eye on its direct competitors.
“I was aware of the situation and tried to play our cards right,” explains the two-time world champion. He tried to vary the pace tactically – “not going too fast in some moments, but all the faster in others.”
However, one factor thwarted the strategy: the performance of Haas. “I think Haas was also very strong in this race. That was our only problem,” Alonso analyzed. “On any other weekend, we might have been able to play a little more and overtake the Racing Bulls.”
In the Constructors’ Championship, Aston Martin ultimately finished seventh behind Racing Bulls and ahead of Haas.
Criticism nonetheless
Despite the conciliatory finale, Alonso is highly critical of the overall performance of the AMR25 throughout the year. “It’s not just this race. The whole season was too inconsistent for us. Too many ups and downs,” sums up the 44-year-old.
He cites Budapest as a positive example: “That was great, two tenths off pole and we finished fifth.” The last two races were also good, he said. But that was offset by too many downward outliers.
“Unfortunately, there were too many weekends where we used up three sets of tires just to get out of Q1. These things obviously killed our hopes.“
Added to that was bad luck with the technology. Alonso recalls the stone in the radiator at Monza or the engine failure in Monaco when he was in sixth place. ”When you add up these points, you know it’s not Abu Dhabi, it’s the whole season.”
Confusion when looking at the front of the field
While Alonso was managing his own race, he was also following the battle at the front involving Oscar Piastri on the screens and over the radio. “I was informed,” says Alonso.
However, the different strategies caused some brief confusion in the cockpit: “Because they were on different tires, Piastri was sometimes in the lead, and I didn’t understand whether that was already including a stop or not. So I had myself updated from time to time.”