Fernando spoke about some new developments for Aston Martin and is excited: “We have discovered some things”

In a massive and unique event in F1, commemorating the 75th anniversary of this category, which began in 1950 with the first Grand Prix in history at Silverstone, Fernando Alonso has shown up at the O2 in London with a renewed air,  with an illusion that everything is going to improve that attracts attention and with  a confident gesture on his face that seems to anticipate that the doubts of 2024 are over.  There are reasons for hope, after hearing some very interesting details that the Asturian has revealed to the Spanish press, among which was MARCA.

“We have to be careful, because last year we suffered a bit, especially at the end of the season, and it’s only been three or four months since Abu Dhabi, when we were in some difficulties.  We’ve done everything we could and many things have changed on the car. 90-95% of the aerodynamics and aesthetics  of the car have changed,” he said first of all about what we can expect when we see the AMR25 next Sunday, February 23.

“ I hope we get the results we want,  but we know that everyone does a good job during the winter, and it will be very tight. Last year we saw that there were a lot of teams in the second half of the season, and I don’t expect anything different this year, so  we have to be careful in all our decisions ,” he says cautiously at the start.

Very covered in winter

What is clear is that they have been the team that has not kept up the good work this winter, appearing a bit like the dark horse on the grid, without making any noise. “Well, I think the end of the 2024 season has a bit of an influence. We started very well in 2023, then we had a little dip, but we finished well, because in Brazil we were on the podium with Checo, and we finished well in 2023,” he recalls.

“So it seems that in winter, as soon as you improve something, you are going to be on the podium. So I think that the end of the year, being a little bit lower than in 2023, makes the winter seem like we have been a little bit more relaxed, but  we have worked even more than in any other winter . But it is true that the improvements that are being made to the car at the moment, with the stability and the regulations that have been put in place, are already minimal,” he explains.

“When you manage to improve by one tenth, two tenths, three tenths, it’s already a world of difference. And  two winters ago, or one winter ago, finding half a second was more or less normal for everyone. And now the cars are very close together , and it’s difficult to find time,” he explains about what he can achieve.

Less important tests this year

“I feel that  the tests in Bahrain and the first races will have less relevance than usual.  In the last two years, at least, I have seen that during the season is when the big steps are made,” he says about what will be seen in Bahrain, from 26 to 28 February.

“Before,  it seemed that starting the year well guaranteed continuity. And in the last two years, we have seen radical changes.  At  McLaren  in the first year, at  Mercedes  last year, at Haas last year,” he warns of a change in trend compared to other seasons.

“There are times when,  if the team finds the key in the ninth race, for example, the season is so long that there is still a lot to be resolved by the 24th race.  So I think I take it a bit more calmly, how to approach the pre-season.  And a good year for us means, at least, equalling last year.  We finished fifth in the constructors’ championship and I don’t think we were the fifth fastest at the end of the year. And that’s why we have to return, at least, to those achievements throughout the year,” he says as his first objective.

New method for evolutions

Alonso recalls that what happened in 2024 cannot happen again, where they spent months without being able to improve and that weighed down the rest of the season. “Yes,  we lost a few months on developments that we thought would work well.  Then they didn’t work and  we went back to aerodynamic packages from previous races, even from the beginning of the year . And that ruined us a bit throughout the season, and it continues to do so. Because now we didn’t have to improve the car from Abu Dhabi, we had to improve the car from Japan from last year,” he recalls about what happened with the improvements that were not improvements when they were put on the track.

The first basic objective is: “Improve the evolutions of the car.  We have to put them into practice and make them work . We have been losing confidence for two years. I think we have identified the reason.  We know where the team went wrong when trying to improve, and that was not always reflected on the track. Now we have another method of development in the wind tunnel that we believe is more solid when it is true.  And that is what I would like to see in the first races,” he says, leaving it up in the air that it could be another type of year, from less to more.

More influence from Hamilton at Ferrari or Newey at Aston?

Asked which change could be more decisive, Hamilton coming to Ferrari or Adrian Newey coming to Aston, Fernando was clear.  “Adrian Newey, right? He will always have more impact than any driver, because drivers come and go , and the 20 of us here try to drive well, and we have achieved things, even in Formula 1, so I don’t know what Hamilton will bring to Ferrari, but I’m sure it will be less than what a designer can bring.”

As for whether Lewis can beat Charles Leclerc in his first year, he is not so sure. “I don’t know. It’s difficult to say. It all depends on the knowledge of the team and that kind of thing, because he (Leclerc) is already at Ferrari,” he says.

And he drew on his own experience to put himself in Hamilton’s shoes. “When I arrived at Aston, it was a different organisation, Alpine, where I felt comfortable, there were a lot of people who were still at Renault, and when I arrived at Aston, which was the new guy in everything, with Lance, who had been with the team all his life, and in the first race we were very fast. It’s more a question of adapting to the car than anything else, but Hamilton will surely have to see how that car is driven. Leclerc has more experience, and last year Lewis suffered a bit with Russell, so he will have to gain a bit of confidence again, but we know how good he is, so as long as he has a good car, he will be a good candidate,” he reasons about the conditions.