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Fernando Alonso claims Aston Martin were the 9th quickest team in the U.S GP. Photo: RacePictures.

Alonso makes bitter Aston Martin admission after tough U.S. GP

19:02, 21 Oct

Updated: 19:26, 21 Oct

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byNorberto Mujica

Fernando Alonso warns Aston Martin of Mexico and Las Vegas being the worst races yet.

I think Mexico, if we score a point or two in Mexico, that will be very welcome.

- Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso gave a brutally honest evaluation of Aston Martin’s form after finishing P10 in the United States Grand Prix, salvaging a single point from what he called one of the team’s toughest weekends of the year.

Alonso told GPblog after the race in Austin: “Yeah, probably we are ninth today because I don’t feel who is the ninth and the tenth team.

Aston Martin arrived in Texas with low expectations after a rough string of races that exposed the AMR25’s limitations on both high-speed and bumpy circuits.

The team opted for a conservative setup, prioritising tyre management and reliability, but still lacked the pace to challenge the midfield group led by Haas and Sauber.

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Fernando Alonso placed P6 at the Sprint qualifying session. Photo: RacePictures.

“I think Alpine maybe is the one that is struggling more. But after Alpine, I don’t know, Haas is clearly in front of us with Ollie (Oliver Bearman, ed.), very strong race. Sauber for sure is in front, Williams, in another league, [with] the top four. So there are not many teams behind us at the moment.

“To be tenth and score one point is a good result,” Alonso admitted. “But we need to get better for Mexico.”

Looking ahead to the race weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the Spaniard expects an even tougher challenge.

“On paper I think Mexico and Vegas are the worst of the remaining and Brazil and Qatar maybe the best. So I think Mexico, if we score a point or two in Mexico, that will be very welcome.”

Fernando Alonso took one point in the race in Texas. Photo: RacePictures.

Alonso responds to Hamilton's quip

The Aston Martin driver was involved in an incident with Lewis Hamilton at the Singapore Grand Prix which saw the British driver penalised for cutting corners, a penalty which benefitted Alonso with a post-race position gain.

Alonso's in-race remarks, though, prompted a humorous response from Hamilton which did no unnoticed by the Spaniard.

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