Fernando Alonso explains: What he hopes to gain from the Aston Martin upgrade

The single point that Fernando Alonso managed to score for the Aston Martin team in Monaco does not hide the fact that the Silverstone-based team is in the midst of a performance crisis. Lawrence Stroll’s team has invested heavily in recent years to strengthen its squad and infrastructure. Nevertheless, the start of the season proved disappointing for the Greens.

Alonso benefited in Monte Carlo from penalties handed to his rivals, and he emphasised at the following race weekend in Barcelona that he was under no illusions about this. The 44-year-old from Asturias is pinning his hopes on the major upgrade due to arrive shortly before or after the summer break. Aston Martin is hoping this will enable it to rejoin the midfield – and to do so before the end of this year.

Catching up with the midfield is the goal

When asked whether the new developments had been designed with 2027 in mind, or whether the team was hoping for improvements this year, the two-time champion explained on the sidelines of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya: “Well, we’re hoping for both. It will of course help for 2027, as we need to improve our situation, but we’re also hopeful that we’ll have a more competitive Grand Prix car in the second half of the current season. The aim is to be able to compete in the midfield again.”

Alonso’s team-mate Lance Stroll is also eager for the situation to improve. The Canadian is still without any points and sits bottom of the World Championship standings. He is pinning his hopes on star designer Adrian Newey, whom his father’s team managed to lure away from Red Bull Racing. “Adrian is the most successful person in Formula 1. That’s why everyone is waiting for the upgrade, and the question is whether it will be good enough to allow us to compete at the front again, as we last did in 2023. The answer to that is that it probably won’t. But it’s a good step in the right direction. And I’m sure we can be very strong again in the future.”

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