Fernando Alonso has said that his Aston Martin car struggled for rear grip and tyre management, but denied it was part of Formula 1‘s new technical directive, following the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.
The Spanish driver started seventh but finished 15th in a race that saw him collect a time-penalty, spin and have a very slow pit-stop. Alonso was so frustrated with his AMR23 package that he came over the radio to slam the car as ‘undriveable’, just moments before spinning.
The team appeared closer to Alpine‘s pace than Ferrari‘s, marking a big swing compared to similar circuits such as Monaco or Azerbaijan where Aston Martin were competitve.
“We need to look at it [the data] because the car was very difficult to drive,” Alonso said to the media. “Very little rear end on the car so we killed the tires very quickly after the the pit stops.
“It was a tough race and we need to look at the details. Obviously we don’t have the answers yet, but we need to get better for Japan.”
Alonso and Aston Martin had noted Singapore as a potential chance to claim the first win of their partnership thanks to the volume of slow-speed corners and braking zones, but the reality was a stark contrast as the team collected zero points.
Aston Martin lacked pace throughout and added a series of unforced errors to their day, although Alonso conceded it’s good they all happened in one race.
“A difficult race, obviously we didn’t have the pace that we were hoping for,” Alonso said. “And yet many mistakes going into the pit lane, slow pit stop and traffic all in in one race or race to forget.
“As I said, it was all in one race, that’s the good thing. Hopefully we can get rid of all these bad things, learn from those and get better in Japan.”
Alonso rejects claims TD018 hurt the team
Prior to the weekend, the FIA introduced a new technical directive that aimed to stop teams from exploiting flexible car parts such as the floor or wings.
Teams had to submit their designs ahead to the Singapore GP to prove no parts were intended to flex beyond the permitted tolerance.
The directive, titled TD018, coincided with Aston Martin‘s lack of performance leading to the question of whether they had to change their package to comply with the rules, which Alonso denied.
“For us, it was not a change in anything,” Alonso added. “We didn’t have to adapt anything, so we are we are happy with that.
“We do find a little bit of comfort in the fact that Red Bull also didn’t look strong here, so these things happen.
“I think track to track it’s very different, so let’s see in Japan. I expect Red Bull to dominate to be honest. So this is one off, Singapore.”
