P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Alonso: Aston Martin 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. He then remained in fifth place for the duration of the race, successfully staying in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and finishing 35 seconds behind Verstappen. After a disappointing race form in Bahrain, Alonso agreed that Jeddah represented a step forward, stating, “We did introduce a new part on Friday that worked really well. And I think we made a step forward in terms of performance.” Although they still miss a few tenths compared to McLaren and Mercedes, Alonso is determined to keep chasing that kind of performance, calling it a challenging but interesting season ahead. Mike Krack, Aston Martin team principal, acknowledged that it is still early to determine the team’s standing in the pecking order, emphasizing the need to wait a couple more races to assess accurately. Alonso, surprised to stay ahead of Russell, admitted the stress of maintaining position and strategizing for a challenging one-stop plan on unknown tire territory during the Jeddah race.
