Villadelprat: Aston Martin can perform more consistently

Joan Villadelprat, a Formula 1 veteran who once worked for McLaren, Ferrari, Tyrrell, Benetton and Prost, shared in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Confidencial his predictions for the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix and assessed the chances of Fernando Alonso and the Aston Martin team.

Joan Villadelprat: “Fernando Alonso is now performing with great confidence, with the same passion, enthusiasm and willingness to fight. At Monza his car lacked top speed, and if Aston Martin had reduced the angles of attack of the wings it would have been difficult to pass the Ascari chicane and Lesmo corners.

However, the team understood this and it didn’t matter what they said. They knew that the Italian circuit was not suitable for the AMR23, but still managed to earn a few points. Moreover, of the Aston Martin drivers, only Alonso is showing results, although the team does need someone to cover its backside.

Lance Stroll is virtually invisible and unheard, and this is very bad when we talk about the team’s position in the Constructors’ Championship. You can’t call him a phenomenal driver, but he used to be able to finish in the top ten, but things haven’t been going well for him lately.

Overall, only Fernando scores points for the team. When Aston Martin is doing well in terms of speed, it is doing its best and then some. But if the car doesn’t hold the track, it can hardly do anything. I have no doubt that he was very angry with Monza.

Aston Martin’s problems are related to the fact that they continue to use the Mercedes wind tunnel, the team is in the process of restructuring, the move to a new base has begun and this does not contribute to the concentrated work of people.

The team may be able to reach a higher level and show stable results, but this will not happen immediately. There are good specialists working there, they know how to make fast cars, but every orchestra needs time to learn to play together so that every instrument sounds as it should. Meanwhile, this orchestra is not playing very well.

This doesn’t mean that Aston Martin can’t win the race given the right conditions. Fernando earns points, gets on the podium, but the strength of Red Bill or Mercedes lies in stability. Alonso’s team is still lacking. However, in Singapore it will once again compete for high results, as the AMR23’s strengths are particularly evident on circuits that require medium to high levels of downforce.

In my opinion Aston Martin built a great car, although they went their own way, not like other teams. But the race in Singapore promises to be fun. I hope Ferrari can solve the problems that prevented their car from running on circuits that require a lot of pressure. But in Monza everything was good for them.

On the other hand, McLaren and Aston Martin need to perform well at the Marina Bay City Circuit; perhaps Alfa Romeo and even Alpine, who failed at Monza, will add to this. But the rivalry will be very intense.

Although there are still eight races to go until the end of the season, the battle for the championship continues. I agree, Max Verstappen is several light years ahead, and the Red Bull team is good at literally everything – they are great with tactics, with pit stops, etc. But at some point something can go wrong, so the situation in the leadership group could still change one way or another.”