The Spaniard initially secured the second-fastest time in Q1, but as the pace intensified, he slipped to fifth place in both Q2 and Q3. Despite this, he acknowledged feeling a significant performance boost from Aston’s car updates, which surpassed initial expectations.
During Friday’s practice at Suzuka, Alonso ran the previous AMR24 car package, while his teammate Lance Stroll utilized the upgrades for comparison. Both drivers later switched to the upgraded components, which focused on revisions to the sidepod and floor area.
“Yesterday, I used the old package, today I had the new one. Tonight, we’ll gather all the data to confirm and quantify the improvement, but everything felt positive during qualifying,” Alonso commented. “It was slightly unexpected to be this competitive, to be honest.”
“We were just a fraction behind Sainz’s Ferrari, with Leclerc and Piastri behind us, as well as the Mercedes. Considering where we were six months ago, 1.5 seconds off pole position, being four-tenths off now is a significant improvement.”
However, Alonso expressed uncertainty about maintaining fifth place during the Grand Prix, anticipating challenges from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, all starting directly behind him.
“Reflecting on the first three races, our strength lies in qualifying, but we’ve struggled on Sundays. It’s possible we’re not in the ideal position to finish in the top five,” he noted.
“If I get overtaken by Oscar and the two Mercedes or something similar, I consider that normal, and we’ll likely revert to our usual position. Let’s see how the race unfolds; I’m open to whatever comes our way. Today’s performance was commendable, and tomorrow brings a new challenge.”
Alonso concurred with the observation that the F1 grid has become more tightly packed in qualifying but acknowledged that Red Bull maintains a clear advantage in race pace.
“It’s true that this season, qualifying has been incredibly tight. We’ve seen drivers like Nico Hulkenberg and Valtteri Bottas just three-tenths off the pace, which is remarkable,” he remarked.
“However, the true measure of a car’s performance emerges during the race. We’ve been struggling with this aspect; we’re strong on Saturdays but not as competitive on Sundays. Our real pace, I believe, is reflected in our Sunday performances. On Saturdays, factors like tire grip and other variables may mask some of our issues.”
