‘Disappointing’ Fernando Alonso told gap Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll is closing

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Fernando Alonso has been virtually anonymous since the start of the 2024 Formula 1 season, having only achieved a best finish of fifth at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The Spaniard was heralded for his masterstroke move of leaving Alpine at a time of chaos and joining the Silverstone-based outfit, who went on to produce a more competitive car.

Aston Martin was Red Bull’s nearest challenger throughout 2023, with Alonso achieving eight podiums at the wheel of the AMR23. The team hoped to continue that momentum with the AMR24, but it has not materialised as rivals McLaren, Ferrari, and now Mercedes catch up to the defending champions.

Alonso’s form attracted the attention of former F1 driver Martin Brundle during the Austrian Grand Prix, where he finished outside of the points in a distant 18th place.

F1 pundit Davide Valsecchi believes there was one moment that was ‘disappointing’ for the Spaniard when speaking on the F1 Nation podcast.

Fernando Alonso’s ‘disappointing’ Austrian Grand Prix

Alonso spent most of the race outside of the top ten and was unable to progress after making contact with Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu in the opening stages of the race at Turn 3.

The Aston Martin driver appeared to dive down the inside and make contact with Zhou’s sidepod, forcing him off track. The stewards deemed Alonso “caused a collision” and was handed a 10-second time penalty along with two penalty points.

Valsecchi believes teammate Lance Stroll is starting to outshine the two-time F1 world champion, who recently renewed his contract to stay with Aston Martin into the 2026 season.

“The last few races are missing Alonso. Last year we had him racing in the top five positions most of the time and on the podium in the first half of the season. He was racing at such a high level, championship level, with a speed that was out of the world for a driver of 42 years old,” said Valsecchi.

“Now, in the last few races, he’s not making any difference on Stroll. And that mistake, he missed the break at that corner and crashed with Zhou. I think that is a disappointing moment for Alonso.”

Fernando Alonso close to race ban

The collision between Alonso and Zhou was needless as neither was fighting anywhere close to the points-paying positions.

Add to the fact that Alonso was handed two penalty points on his FIA Super Licence, he has now accumulated a total of eight over a 12 month period. If he reaches 12, he will be handed an automatic race ban.

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

Alonso will have to wait until next year until the first batch of penalty points expire after he picked up his first three for his role in George Russell’s race-ending crash at the Australian GP. The other three were for causing a collision with Carlos Sainz at the Chinese GP.

The eagle-eyed will have noticed that Alonso denied Max Verstappen from setting the fastest lap of the Austrian GP by pitting in the final laps for a set of Soft tyres, explaining why he finished so far down the order.

Aston Martin faces a challenge from RB in the latter stages of the season as they put more updates on their car in the battle for fifth in the Constructors’ Championship. The team has amassed 58 points so far but will need to regularly finish in the points if they want to fend off those at the bottom end of the midfield.