Since joining Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso’s F1 career has experienced a revitalization.
Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso is facing a race against time to make F1 qualifying at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after crashing in final practice at Imola on Saturday morning.
After 25 minutes of FP2, Alonso caused a red flag when he lost control of his Aston Martin while entering the second Rivazza corner.
Fernando Alonso crashes out of Imola FP3, concerns for qualifying
Despite being a two-time World Champion, he failed to catch up to the car and ended up hitting the barrier with the rear-left corner of his AMR24.
“I’m fine,” Alonso reassured his race engineer over the team radio right after the incident. “Apologies, mate.”
Alonso’s gearbox is likely to be affected by the rear impact, causing worry among Aston Martin mechanics who now have a tight deadline to repair his car before the start of Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session.
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After a lackluster performance in practice at Imola, where he finished 10th in both FP1 and FP2 on Friday, Alonso’s rare mistake occurred.
During the second session on Friday, the Spaniard found himself in a close encounter with his former McLaren teammate, Lewis Hamilton. Alonso expressed his frustration with the seven-time World Champion, highlighting two instances of near-misses at Acque Minerali and Tosa.
Alonso angrily exclaimed over the team radio, “Hamilton believes he is the only one on the track!”
Aston Martin has made their second significant upgrade of the F1 2024 season at Imola, aiming to narrow the distance between them and the top-four teams. This comes after their previous update in Japan last month.
Aston Martin has introduced several new components for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which encompass modifications to the front wing, nose, floor, engine cover, rear suspension, and rear corner.
During a media interview, Aston Martin technical director Dan Fallows disclosed that the team’s most recent upgrade was developed using insights gained from the car’s performance during pre-season testing in February.
Most of the changes in this update have been influenced by our observations of the launch car and the car in testing. We have taken these findings into consideration while determining how we can further develop and improve the vehicle.
“We have observed that certain circuits are more suitable for us compared to others, and we have made it a priority to ensure our performance is consistent across all circuits.”
“We are currently witnessing an era of ground-effect cars characterized by distinct performance limits, and our constant endeavor is to expand those limits.”
It is important to ensure that any update you introduce is able to perform effectively under various conditions.
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