Fernando Alonso, a Spanish driver for the Aston Martin F1 Team, expressed his belief that the team is still lacking in performance compared to McLaren and Mercedes, despite showing progress in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix of Formula 1. Alonso had a promising sixth place in qualifying in Bahrain but dropped to ninth during the race, stating that he had exceeded the car’s potential in a single lap. While he managed to secure a top-five race result in Jeddah, Alonso admitted to being concerned about the long-run pace of the Aston Martin. He acknowledged that the car’s competitiveness on high fuel is not on par with its one-lap speed. Alonso expressed satisfaction with his race result, finishing ahead of both Mercedes, one McLaren, and one Ferrari. However, he noted that the team still lags behind Mercedes and McLaren by two or three tenths, and even more when compared to Red Bull and Ferrari. Alonso emphasized the need to continue working on the race pace. His worries about falling down the order, as happened in Bahrain, were heightened when Oscar Piastri overtook his Aston Martin towards the end of the race. Alonso was heard discussing a “Plan B” over the team radio while under pressure from George Russell’s Mercedes. He admitted that his concerns were related to the condition of his tires after a pit stop on Lap 7 during the Safety Car period. Alonso described the situation as stressful and mentioned that completing 42 laps on a set of tires was unfamiliar territory for him. He wanted to ensure that the team’s strategy remained intact and that they didn’t deviate from the original plan. During the race, there was a close call between Alonso and Sergio Perez, who was held in his pit box due to a double-stack by Red Bull. Alonso commented on the incident, stating that it was close but ultimately without consequences. He acknowledged that the penalty for such incidents is sufficient, although in unlucky situations, it may not seem enough. Fortunately, both cars continued racing without any major issues.
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