Alonso eliminated as Aston Martin development ideas hit a wall in Saudi qualifying
Jeddah is a place Fernando Alonso has long considered one of his happiest hunting grounds. The high-speed sweeps of the Corniche Circuit suit his aggressive, precise driving style perfectly. But this weekend, the two-time world champion found himself fighting just to survive — and ultimately, falling short in Q2 after squeezing every last drop from a car that seems to have lost its spark.
The 13th place result might look underwhelming on the surface, but the effort behind it tells a very different story. Alonso had to burn through three sets of fresh soft tyres just to scrape into Q2 — a tactical sacrifice that effectively sealed his fate before the battle for Q3 even began. With no new rubber left, even a miracle lap wouldn’t have been enough.
“This is one of my favourite tracks,” Alonso said after the session. “I’ve always been quick around here since my days at Alpine. But today, I had to drive beyond the limits just to make it into Q2. And all that effort gave me 13th.”
There was a deep frustration in his voice, the kind that comes when talent and effort are no longer enough to paper over technical cracks. And more than that — an underlying sense of helplessness that’s beginning to take root.
Running out of answers — and options
Alonso was candid in assessing the situation Aston Martin finds itself in. “I’m not happy with where we are right now,” he admitted. “I have to push the limits just to find a bit more performance, but even then, there’s not much to be gained.”
That’s a worrying sign for a team that started the 2023 season with so much promise. Back then, Aston Martin emerged as the surprise package, with Alonso racking up podiums and challenging the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari. Fast forward to Jeddah in 2024, and the picture looks very different.
Team boss Mike Krack and the technical department have spent the winter trying to rectify the inconsistencies that plagued them in the latter half of last season. That included running back-to-back tests with old and new car configurations, trying to untangle simulation errors and refine the feedback loop between wind tunnel, simulator, and track.
In theory, their switch to an all-new wind tunnel at their own Silverstone base was supposed to be a turning point. Freed from their reliance on the outdated Mercedes facility in Brackley, Aston Martin had a chance to build something with more precision and independence. But if Jeddah is anything to go by, the gap between theory and reality is proving stubbornly difficult to close.
Focus shifting to 2026 — but what about now?
According to whispers in the paddock, the team has already begun pivoting its resources toward the 2026 car — when new regulations and a works Honda power unit arrive. While that’s a logical long-term strategy, it leaves Alonso — who will be 44 by the time that project kicks off — in an awkward position.
There are still upgrades coming for the AMR25, including a revised floor that’s reportedly in production. But Alonso’s tone suggests he doesn’t believe those changes will be enough to reverse the current trend.
“We tried many different settings this weekend,” he explained. “None of them really gave us a different result at the end of the lap. It’s like we’re running in circles.”
And then came the line that cut to the heart of the problem: “Now something has to come from the factory, not from the track. But I think we’ve run out of ideas.”
That’s a damning statement from one of the most experienced drivers on the grid — a clear signal that the team’s current package has reached its ceiling, and the solutions must come from deeper within the technical department.
A team in limbo
Aston Martin is now caught between two competing realities. On one hand, they have a world-class driver in Alonso, still capable of extracting pace from even the most compromised machinery. On the other, they’re developing for a future that may not include him.
Alonso is not the kind of driver who tolerates stagnation quietly. His entire career has been defined by an intense desire to compete — to extract every millisecond from whatever he’s given. That’s exactly what he tried to do in Jeddah. But this time, the car simply didn’t respond.
Lance Stroll’s Q1 exit only underlined the struggles. This isn’t a case of one driver underperforming — it’s the car. And the direction it’s heading in looks more uncertain with each passing weekend.
What next?
The path forward for Aston Martin won’t be easy. The floor upgrade may provide a temporary lift, but if Alonso is right — if they’ve truly exhausted their development ideas — then 2024 could turn into a long, painful waiting game until the next big rule reset in two years’ time.
For now, Alonso will keep digging deep, doing what he does best — fighting for every position, every point, every fraction of a second. But behind that fight lies a growing truth: without meaningful progress from the factory, even the might of Fernando Alonso might not be enough.
And in a season where F1’s midfield is tighter than ever, standing still is as good as going backwards.
