One of the twenty drivers on the F1 field was fined after the third free practice session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The weekend in Las Vegas did not start off well for Fernando Alonso and his team, Aston Martin.
During Free Practice 3, the two-time world champion was flashed at a speed of 81.3 km/h in the pit lane, exceeding the permitted limit of 80 km/h. This speeding violation, recorded at 7:23 p.m., did not escape the vigilance of the FIA, which quickly applied a sanction. Result: a fine of 200 euros imposed on the Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team.
If this penalty remains anecdotal on a financial level for an F1 team, it illustrates a certain feverishness within Aston Martin, prey to declining performances in recent races.
Catastrophic qualifying for Aston Martin
The situation got even worse during qualifying. None of the Aston Martin drivers managed to make it past Q1, a first for the team this season.
Fernando Alonso, author of the 17th fastest time, expressed his dismay after this poor performance: “We haven't been competitive since the start of the weekend and we expected qualifying to be tough.”
The Spanish driver pointed out the difficulties linked to the cold weather conditions of Las Vegas, which disrupted the balance of the car and the management of tire temperatures. These recurring problems illustrate the challenge Aston Martin faces in the face of increasingly fierce competition.
A tense end to the season
Fernando Alonso admits the team is going through a difficult period: “We haven't been competitive for a few races now, but we need to improve and continue to learn for next year.”
However, the Spaniard remains combative and hopes to take advantage of possible unforeseen events during the race, such as incidents or interventions by the safety car. The deterioration in the performance of Aston Martin, once in contention for second place in the constructors' championship, now raises the question of the technical direction to take for 2024.
With this gloomy weekend in Las Vegas, Aston Martin still seems to have a lot of work to do to return to the level which marked the start of its season.
