Fernando Alonso would like to return to the points this weekend in Las Vegas, after several scoreless races for Aston Martin F1. He explains why the Las Vegas Strip circuit is a very pleasant challenge.
“It's a difficult circuit, like all fast urban tracks, like Baku. We brake hard, the walls are very close and it's very easy to make a mistake. It will be an interesting weekend, we don't have scored points for several weekends and it's time to change that” Alonso said.
Andy Cowell is also one of Aston Martin's recruits, and Alonso is happy to see such names joining the project: “The team is always looking towards the future, they have recruited good people and big names for the future.”
“It's part of a process and we support our boss. The team wants to win championships and races in the future and we want to reduce this time to be competitive, so we hope for a better 2025 season, obviously.”
Asked about the talent of beginners in Formula 1, Alonso explained why they have a very detailed preparation, even if he cites as an argument the track tests, which were much less controlled in the 2000s. During his year as a tester at Renault, he had happily exceeded 20,000 kilometers at the wheel.
The two-time world champion also notes that headlines about rookies overshadow impressive performances by other drivers: “The testing helps, they do a lot of kilometers in the cars, they drive in the old cars. They have the simulators to prepare and learn the circuits.”
“But they are very good, they are doing very well. However, I think some more experienced teammates are doing better. The rookies are doing an extraordinary job, but sometimes there are experienced teammates who are doing a much better job than them and no one talks about it.”
Lance Stroll hopes to return to his good 2023 form this year: “I have good memories here, I finished fifth last year, which was good. It's a difficult circuit with big braking zones. We have little margin for error, we are close to the walls and it's a real challenge in the cockpit.”
Alonso said that for Aston Martin, the fewer corners there were, the faster the car would be. A statement that Stroll likes: “I agree but there are still 17. But they are short corners and it is cold, so these are conditions that could help.”
“It will be difficult to put the tires in the right window because there are a lot of long straights. Last year in qualifying, it took the whole exit lap or even two exit laps for the tires to work. I hope that we can be more competitive this weekend.”
