Fernando Alonso

Alonso responds to Marko in telling Aston Martin Dutch GP trade-off claim

13:58, 31 Aug

byNorberto Mujica

Aston Martin looked like a reawakened dark horse during the first two practice sessions at Zandvoort, prompting comments from Helmut Marko. Yet their efforts faded from FP3 onward, and Fernando Alonso has revealed why.

Lance Stroll finished P3, ahead of Alonso in P4, in FP1, while the Spaniard grabbed P3 in FP2. By FP3, however, both Aston Martins were off the pace. Qualifying then delivered a mixed result: Stroll retired, while Alonso could only manage P10 after losing two tenths at Turn 10. With the field so tight, that translated into a costly loss of positions.

“Yeah, it was what happened to me in Q3, Turn 10, I lost two and a half tenths compared to my Q2.

"A little bit more or less luck in quali can change everything. But the pace wasn’t there anymore. Already in FP3, we were only P12,” Alonso told media including GPblog.

Looking ahead, Alonso admitted Aston Martin had shifted focus. “I think it’s difficult to pass here, so not the best place to start.

"But we put a little bit more weight into the race with our tyre selection. We sacrificed a bit in qualifying. Let’s see tomorrow if that pays off.”

Alonso responds to Marko

Marko had suggested on Friday that Aston Martin had 'found something' since Budapest, and Alonso partly agreed.

“I think a lot of things have changed. A couple of new components woke up the car and the aero platform.

"We’re in a much better place now since Budapest, but still a long way off. Today we were just hardly fighting for Q3, so still a long way to go,” concluded Alonso nuancing Marko's claims.