£275k-a-week star admits he’s still driving his 2024 F1 car around ‘problems’

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Formula 1 is preparing for its return to China for the first time in five years with a brand new Sprint weekend format to look forward to.

The shootout between Red Bull and Ferrari is set to continue after the two manufacturers shared the first four victories between them.

However, the rest of the grid will be hoping to catch up over the next few races, or at least close the gap on their rivals.

The Chinese Grand Prix will only have one practice session before heading into qualifying and every driver will hope that they can nail their set-up in that hour-long session.

Speaking in the driver’s press conference, via Formula 1’s website, Fernando Alonso was previewing the race.

The £275,000-a-week driver has been in the headlines this week after signing a new contract with Aston Martin.

Alonso has admitted that he does have to drive his Aston Martin with problems, but that tends to suit him.

Damon Hill believes the new Sprint format will suit Alonso, while Pedro De La Rosa added that he doesn’t think he even needs practice sessions.

READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso’s life outside F1 from net worth to Cars 2

Fernando Alonso admits driving Aston Martin with problems

It’s been a solid start to the 2024 season for Aston Martin, but they haven’t quite hit the heights that they did 12 months ago.

Alonso secured eight podium finishes in 2023 including six top-three finishes in the first eight races.

However, he looks unlikely to match that record this year with the teams around Aston Martin taking steps forward.

Aside from the Red Bull and Ferrari, only Lando Norris has broken into the top three this season and that’s only after Max Verstappen retired from the Australian Grand Prix and Sergio Perez had struggles of his own.

It’s very unlikely that a driver’s car is perfect heading into every Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso has shown over the past two decades and continues to show at Aston Martin that he’s more than capable of dealing with any problems with his car.

Perhaps surprisingly, he’s even praised the input of his teammate Lance Stroll in helping him get the most out of that car.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Fernando Alonso responds to whether he ‘lacks sensitivity’

Journalist Tom Clarkson asked Alonso where he lacks sensitivity, and the Spaniard responded: “Well, I think sometimes I drive the car around the problems that we have and that’s sometimes a good thing because I can drive any car at any moment and extract 90% of it.

“But to reach the 100% potential of the car sometimes I’m not able to do without sometimes the help from my teammate and some special details in the set-up or balance problems here or there.

“I think we benefit from each other in many different ways and this is a good thing at the moment.”

There has been speculation as to whether Fernando Alonso would be partnered with Lance Stroll beyond 2024.

The Canadian’s father is the executive chairman of the team and Stroll appears to be on a rolling contract.

However, Carlos Sainz has been linked with Aston Martin as he searches for his next Formula 1 team.

Stroll has received praise for a couple of his performances this season, but his crash in Saudi Arabia and poor showing in Japan will be concerning.

It says a lot that Alonso is still getting a lot more out of his Aston Martin even if he’s facing problems every week.