David Coulthard thinks F1 driver is ‘an inspiration’ after what he saw at Saudi Arabian GP

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David Coulthard has hailed Fernando Alonso for being ‘an inspiration’ whilst praising the Aston Martin driver’s work in qualifying at the 2024 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian GP.

The 42-year-old will start Saturday’s race from fourth on the grid following a quick lap of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Alonso toured the track in 1:27.846 – only missing out on the front row by 0.055 seconds to Charles Leclerc. He will run beside Sergio Perez on the second row.

Three-time reigning champion, Max Verstappen, gave Red Bull pole position with a 1:27.472 lap. But while Alonso got within four-tenths of a second of first place, Lance Stroll could only set the 10th-fastest time. Stroll needed 1:28.572 to guide his Aston Martin around the track.

David Coulthard calls Fernando Alonso an ‘inspiration’ at the Saudi Arabian GP

Coulthard feels what Alonso and Stroll achieved in qualifying at the Saudi Arabian GP proved the Spaniard is ‘comfortably’ leading Aston Martin. He further admired how the two-time F1 champion tucked himself in behind Lewis Hamilton to steal a tow starting his final lap in Q3.

“It seems he had a chat to himself before qualifying,” Coulthard noted on Channel 4 (8/3, 21:56). “Because, yeah, hunting down a slipstream to start his qualifying lap.

“A tenth would have made all the difference, of course, it’s so tight out there. But, yeah, I think he continues to be an inspiration and leading that team quite comfortably.”

Alonso was alert to Hamilton finishing the Mercedes driver’s final lap in Q3 to place his car perfectly in the seven-time F1 champion’s slipstream. Hamilton then had zero choice but to tow his long-time rival to the finish line as to not compromise his lap, which only sealed P8.

Fernando Alonso is ‘comfortably’ beating Lance Stroll at Aston Martin again

Hamilton posted a 1:28.460 lap in Q3 to finish qualifying at the Saudi Arabian GP behind his Mercedes teammate, George Russell (P7). Only Yuki Tsunoda and Stroll posted slower times in Q3 than the Briton. While Alonso’s best time even beat Hamilton’s time by 0.614 seconds.

Alonso also led Hamilton and his Aston Martin teammate, Stroll, in qualifying at the Bahrain GP last week. The Oviedo native put his AMR24 in sixth place with a 1:29.542 lap time in Q3. Hamilton could only manage P9 with a 1:29.710, while Stroll took P12 with a 1:30.200 in Q2.

Stroll would have wanted to start the 2024 season much closer to Alonso’s qualifying speed. The 25-year-old lost his head-to-head battle with the Spaniard 19-3 last term and also lost 5-1 to Alonso in Sprint shootouts. Stroll also only penned 74 points to Alonso’s 206 in 2023.