Aug.24 (GMM) Fernando Alonso says Aston Martin’s latest chassis package has finally given the team a clear direction, even though Honda’s new engine did not deliver everything expected at Zandvoort.
The Spaniard was encouraged by the car’s race performance and believes the chassis now behaves much more convincingly once tyre grip begins to fade.
“I think we’ve brought more parts here, we’ve improved the car, we’ve improved the chassis,” said the 45-year-old after scoring two points on Sunday.
“It’s another step forward in that sense. When the tyres wear down, when it no longer depends so much on tyre grip, we see the quality of the cars, and the Aston stands out a bit there.”
Alonso said the important thing is that the new package appears fundamentally sound.
“If we had brought this package and found we weren’t performing well in the corners, it would have been worrying. Now that we have a clear direction, it’s a matter of optimising and working flat out on this package.”
“Everyone is highly motivated now. This result means that both factories will be clocking in tomorrow at eight o’clock, because everyone wants more.”
The engine picture is less positive.
“We have to wait and see with the engine,” said Alonso, after Honda delivered its highly anticipated Spec 2 engine at the weekend.
“I don’t think it gave us the results we were hoping for this weekend.”
Alonso says some of the drivability improvements achieved with the original Honda unit have effectively been lost with the new specification.
“We don’t have that drivability, that gear change, everything we had improved with the first engine, we’ve gone back a bit to square one with this second one.”
Honda chief engineer Shintaro Orihara acknowledged the same weakness.
“We know there is room for improvement in drivability, and this remains crucial for us heading into the upcoming races,” said the Japanese.
Alonso nevertheless believes the package still has time to mature.
“We have about two or three races ahead to optimise it.”