Fernando Alonso in Baku - Photo: Race Pictures

Alonso claims Aston Martin needs "fine-tuning" ahead of qualifying

20:49, 03 Oct

byShayni Solanki

Fernando Alonso claims that the Aston Martin is still "not in a happy place" despite being in the top four throughout both Friday practice sessions at the Singapore Grand Prix.

The two-time world champion managed to top the timesheets this morning, securing the fastest time ahead of Charles Leclerc in FP1.

His phenomenal performance was followed through to the afternoon, securing the fourth-fastest time behind Max Verstappen.

Alonso shared on F1TV: "Yes, it seems a little bit better than the previous Grand Prix. Let's try to fine-tune the setup.

"It's still not in a happy place, especially on the front axle, still a little bit too much on the steer, so yes, something to work on tonight, but I think a good start.

"Let's see what we can do tomorrow."

Fernando Alonso sitting in the Aston Martin - Photo: Race Pictures

Alonso keen to 'fine-tune' set up

The AMR25 has a great chance of scoring a handful of points this weekend, performing better on high-downforce circuits like the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Although he set the fastest time earlier this morning, Alonso explained that the chaos of the red flags during FP2 clouded the true picture of performance.

"I think since the first lap in FP1 we were in a comfy place and we were able to find the limits quite quickly," he continued.

"Already in FP1 and now in FP2, obviously, the red flag didn't help to see the full picture. So I don't know if the top teams put the lap or not together with the red flag.

"But yeah, let's see if we can be in Q3 tomorrow and get points on Sunday.

"I think both sessions being in the top four is probably the best Friday we've had so far. But as I said, sometimes on Friday we run with different programs than the others, so different fuel.

"It's not the first time that that happens; the real test is tomorrow in qualifying, but we are a little bit more optimistic than the previous two races."

Lance Stroll managed to set the sixth fastest time in FP2, giving Aston Martin high hopes for qualifying tomorrow.

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