Fernando Alonso says although F1 sprint weekend will not be ideal for Aston Martin, but the circuit layout will help them pace wise.
After another podium in F1 Canadian GP with the updates on the Aston Martin, Alonso feels the weekend in Austria will be tricky with the sprint round where it will be difficult to judge the updates they have on the car with only FP1 at hand.
With Red Bull already a bit ahead, Alonso is of the view that the layout will help Ferrari but it will somewhere aide Aston Martin too. “I think the sprint weekend will not be ideal for us. We still have more time maybe of free practice with our new upgraded car,” he said.
“We still need to understand and optimise the package a little bit and in Austria, obviously with the sprint, we will have only FP1 to do that. But yeah, it is what it is. The circuit will be good and maybe better for the package as well, this one with a strange layout, let’s say.
“Maybe good for Ferrari, historically here as well with a long straight and short corners so maybe Austria we have a little bit more pace,” summed up Alonso, as team boss Mike Krack also noted that they are still at the learning process with the update.
“When you introduce new components to the car, it always necessitates a period of relearning: ‘How does the car behave under different conditions and ride heights?,” said Krack. “We have much to discover and must continue developing the car in the upcoming races. We were truly uncertain about our performance. Perhaps Fernando had a better sense than we did.”
Here’s Felipe Drugovich testing in Red Bull Ring
Here’s Lance Stroll on the last lap fight against Valtteri Bottas
Here’s Fernando Alonso on iconic Top 3 in Canadian GP