Alonso: I don’t want to be seen as a pessimist, but…

Fernando Alonso believes that Aston Martin’s main task in today’s race is to try and contain Ferrari and Mercedes, and not plan to challenge Red Bull Racing for victory.

Because Max Verstappen suffered technical problems during qualifying, he did not participate in the battle for pole position, which went to his teammate Sergio Pérez. The second result was shown by Charles Leclerc, but the Scuderia driver was fined and loses ten positions. Accordingly, Alonso starts from the front row, but admits that his chances of winning are slim.

“I think we are not in that position yet. When it comes to pure speed, Red Bull is in a different class, said the two-time world champion. – That’s why we need to pay more attention to the teams behind us. Ferrari will be very strong, the same can be said of Mercedes and Alpine – they are all fast on this track.

I believe we have to fight with those who start behind us. As we saw in qualifying, Max Verstappen was probably also in his own class, but it seems that technical problems prevented him from doing so, so of course we will try to take advantage of that.

I don’t want to be seen as a pessimist, but if we look at our pace in practice, if we remember the race in Bahrain, we have to admit that Red Bull is a bit ahead of everyone. So let’s put it this way: it’s not our job to fight Sergio for the win.

But as I said, Formula 1 is not an exact science, not mathematics, so anything can happen. After all, no one could have foreseen that Verstappen would only finish 15th in qualifying, but sometimes events take such a turn.

That is why it is of utmost importance to us to earn points. Both Aston Martin cars are starting in the top five and we need to try to get both in the top five so that we can continue to collect points for the Constructors’ Championship. This is the biggest challenge the team faces this year.”

Fernando also has no doubt that the speed capabilities of the RB19 car will enable Verstappen to earn back: “Red Bull has a big advantage. I don’t remember which race he started last year because of an engine change, but he still finished second or even won. Therefore, there is no doubt that he will probably rise to the podium now. At least this is.

When we presented our car on February 13, I remember very well the conversation with Mike Krak, with Lance Stroll, in charge of Aston Martin F1, and then we set the goals for this year. Simply put, these goals don’t mean fighting for wins with Red Bull. So let’s be realistic and try not to make mistakes.

But if the weekend goes well for us, we can’t afford to miss the opportunity to earn points, that would be unforgivable. Therefore, I have no doubt that in the race we will take advantage of all the opportunities that are offered for this.”