Fernando Alonso: I’m sure we won’t reach the podium

Fernando Alonso is pleased with the pace of the Aston Martin car in qualifying and yesterday at the Jeddah circuit he posted a fourth result. If the two-time world champion had driven a lap faster in the final session, he could have been on the front row, because Fernando lost very little to Charles Leclerc, only 0.055 seconds.

But at the same time, according to the Spaniard, the tires of the AMR24 are subject to serious degradation over the race distance, which makes it unlikely that it will be possible to compete for the podium in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

“I am one hundred percent sure that we will not reach the podium, our relegation is too strong. But if you manage to jump over your head, it will be glorious,” Alonso explained to the Spanish press. – The car ensures that you can warm up the tires perfectly; Already on the first lap you can prepare the tires properly and you immediately get the feeling that fresh tires offer the maximum possible grip.

At the same time, it is precisely because of this good quality that the car literally eats rubber, and on the racing distance this causes problems. But as the season progresses, the team will try to find out.”

But this feature of the car can be quite useful on the city circuit in Monaco, where the result of the race depends 90% on the starting position.

When Fernando was asked about this, he replied: “I have thought about it more than once. If the team effectively modernizes the car and prepares technical innovations, you always look forward to the race in Monaco with great impatience. Moreover, by then we will already be able to make improvements on long sets of laps, although this is not the most useful feature on a city circuit.

But we will try to maintain a good speed and increase the race pace in one fast lap.”