Fernando Alonso says Aston Martin need to find gains from more than just the front wing update they have brought for this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
The team has introduced the latest revision to its AMR24 for the race at Imola. The updated front wing features distinctive creases in its two upper planes in front of the inside edges of the two tyres.
Alonso’s second season at Aston Martin has not started as well as his first. He is yet to finish on the podium, having done so five times in the first six rounds of 2023, and he said the team needs to find more from its car to keep pace with its rivals.
“It will be important because it seems that our main competitors are making a steps every race and we don’t want to lose that train to fight for big things,” he told the official F1 channel. “We have new parts here, I’m confident that they will work as expected.”
He equalled his lowest finish of the season with ninth place in the previous round. Alonso believes the team didn’t get the most out of its car in the Miami sprint event, where they had only a single practice session.
“Apart from [the update] I think we need to optimise the set-up a little bit,” he said. “In Miami, we were not maybe in the window of the car and now having three free practices we need to find that sweet spot.”
After the first six rounds Aston Martin have 42 points, 78 less than at the same stage last year. They are 22 points behind Mercedes, and Alonso’s team mate Lance Stroll hopes their latest update brings them closer to that rival.
“We have an upgrade on the car this weekend, so I hope we can be more competitive and fight for some bigger points further up the grid,” he said. “If we can have a good weekend, score some big points, out-score Mercedes – we’re fighting with them a little bit in the constructors championship, so that would be good.”
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2024 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
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