Ex Sauber engineer raves about ‘truly phenomenal’ driver after Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

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F1 strategy engineer Ruth Buscombe has showered praise on Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Alonso finished fifth in Jeddah to bring home 10 points for the Silverstone outfit.

And speaking on the Chequered Flag podcast for BBC Radio 5 Live, Buscombe was highly complimentary of his performance.

Alonso qualified fourth on Friday and was within a tenth of making the front row ahead of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri got past the veteran Spaniard in the early stages of the race, but he was then able to hold off Mercedes star George Russell to tie down fifth.

Thanks to Alonso, Aston Martin matched the Silver Arrows’ haul of 10 points from the event, with Russell sixth and Lewis Hamilton ninth.

Teammate Lance Stroll wasn’t able to contribute after crashing out of the Grand Prix.

Alonso has scored 12 of Aston’s 13 points so far this term, with Stroll only able to contribute a 10th place in Bahrain.

Ruth Buscombe praises Fernando Alonso

Buscombe feels that Alonso comes alive at high-speed street circuits like Jeddah, having scored podium at the same round in 2023.

She recalls her time working alongside the Spaniard at Ferrari, where she saw his ‘truly phenomenal’ awareness first-hand.

The 42-year-old single-handedly delivered a ‘great’ weekend for Aston Martin after Stroll’s accident.

She said: “You can see how phenomenal Fernando is here. Obviously on this track last year, he was able to physically cross the line getting a podium, despite the later penalties, and he really does excel in tracks like this, especially tracks where it’s a thinking race, where you have to be completely on it.

“I had the pleasure of working with him back when I was at Ferrari, and you could really see the CPU that man has available to him during a race is truly phenomenal.

“And especially when you look, now that Aston Martin, with those 10 points you mention, they are tying Mercedes in the constructors’ championship, which is a great feat for a car where they are.”

Alonso may catch Mercedes eye

Buscombe wasn’t the only one impressed by Alonso’s showing in Saudi Arabia.

Channel 4 F1 pundit David Coulthard called him an ‘inspiration’ after qualifying, while Karun Chandhok said his performance on Thursday was a ‘cracker’.

Despite being the oldest driver on the grid, he’s showing he can still mix it at the front of the field.

And that could be significant given that there’s a vacant seat at Mercedes for 2025 with Hamilton joining Ferrari.

Former F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella has already called for the Silver Arrows to bring in Alonso as Hamilton’s replacement.