P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Alonso: Aston Martin F1 car still "two or three tenths" off McLaren, Mercedes
At the season-opener in Bahrain, Alonso qualified sixth but slipped to ninth behind the Mercedes and McLaren drivers in the race, finishing 74 seconds adrift of winner Max Verstappen. Alonso qualified fourth for the Saudi Arabian GP, but he soon lost a place to Oscar Piastri’s McLaren and finished fifth in the race, ahead of George Russell’s Mercedes. Despite a disappointing Bahrain race, Alonso acknowledged improvements in Jeddah, mentioning a new part that worked well. He expressed satisfaction with his race result, in front of both Mercedes, one McLaren, and one Ferrari. Aston Martin’s team principal highlighted that it’s still early to determine where the team stands in terms of performance. Alonso admitted to being surprised by staying ahead of Russell and highlighted the tire management challenge during the race in Jeddah.
