Fernando Alonso blames ‘inferior weapons’ for losing to rivals in F1 career
Fernando Alonso reckoned that racing with 'inferior weapons' caused him to not contend for race victories and championship in recent years.
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Fernando Alonso (via Getty)
Fernando Alonso continues to be one of the most experienced drivers on the current Formula 1 grid. The Asturian has faced massive performance struggles from Aston Martin’s challenger but has still attempted to score well. Hence, amidst the preparation for the 2025 season, Alonso shared his regret of always racing with ‘inferior weapons’ in the sport.
Fernando Alonso won two world championships way back in 2005 and 2006 and couldn’t taste victory since then. Amidst recent struggles with Aston Martin, Alonso recalled his childhood karting days. The 43-year-old claimed that he only had a kart to race around the rainy circuit in Asturia. The veteran had to race with slicks on the wet circuit due to financial issues while his rivals enjoyed the courtesy of wet tires.
Since I was a child, I’ve only had a kart. In Asturias it rains a lot [and] when it rained, all the kids put on rain tyres and I raced on dry tyres, because we didn’t have the money to buy rain tyres.
Fernando Alonso told DAZN Spain.
Alonso believed that these little struggles in racing continued to the current day with Aston Martin. The 43-year-old claimed that Silverstone had money for the rain tires but could not build a successful spoiler like Ferrari or a floor like McLaren. Hence, the Asturian declared that racing with ‘inferior weapons’ had been the story of his life as he had to adapt to the issues.
And that carries over to this day. Here we all have the resources for rain tyres, but we don’t have the spoilers that Ferrari has, or the floors that McLaren has, or anything like that. It’s been a bit of a story of my life, racing with slightly inferior weapons to the others and adapting to what I could.
Fernando Alonso added
Fernando Alonso ready to ‘reset’ and learn from difficulties at Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso secured a multi-year contract extension with Aston Martin. The 43-year-old claimed that the team was ready to ‘reset’ and learn from the difficulties and mistakes of the 2024 season. Moreover, Alonso raised confidence in the team’s ability to succeed in the coming season, courtesy of the newly built state-of-the-art facility in Silverstone. Due to these positive-looking conditions, the veteran was ‘happy’ with the team, especially after Andy Cowell’s promotion to team principal.
Now I think we can reset, we can learn from all the difficulties and mistakes of this year and apply those learnings into next year’s project. The new factory is now completed, also the new wind tunnel is going to be open soon. [New group CEO] Andy Cowell has already changed some of the weaknesses that he found in the team, so we have trust on the new management, and I think things are moving in the right direction, so I’m happy for that.
Fernando Alonso noted
Aston Martin’s recent acquisition of Adrian Newey is also a highly positive factor for the team. The Silverstone-based constructor will leave no stone unturned to contend for the championship in the coming season. Hence, Alonso will need a bit of luck on his side apart from hard work to deem a great end to his career in Formula 1.
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Aditya Pandya
(1464 Articles Published)