Alonso could've been on the front row: "I had a moment"

Fernando Alonso is in fine form during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend. The Spanish driver secured his second P3 start of the weekend during qualifying. The 42-year-old was the best driver outside of Red Bull. He came out on top in the battle for that position against McLaren. 

In the week before the Chinese Grand Prix, Alonso signed a new contract with Aston Martin. That will see him stay at the team in 2025 and 2026. Honda will join in the second season, and Alonso hopes to be more competitive. But in the here and now, Alonso has proved he can still fight for the top positions whilst his teammate Lance Stroll failed to reach Q3. 

Alonso reacts to P3 in qualifying

Alonso believes he could've got an even better lap time. "I don't know how far Checo is, but I had a moment in turn one or two. I questioned if I should keep going or abort. We didn't give up. We set a good lap time," Alonso said in the post-session interview.

In 2024, teams are now allowed to change the car between the sprint race and qualifying. Alonso praises the work Aston Martin did during the break.

"The car has improved since this morning. We made some good set-up changes. I think it's the same for everyone. You can't change it completely, but you can make some small changes. Some for balance, some just guesses. We won't know the answer until tomorrow [Sunday]. We are not in the positions we want yet, but we will keep pushing," Alonso concluded.