Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso delivers the harshest criticism yet of the new regulations.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he’s a purist in terms of his racing, an out-and-out scrapper and clearly still ultra-competitive – at least on a personal level – one would have to laugh, for the Spaniard is facing yet another year of F1 purgatory.
No matter that it’s “early days” and that “pace doesn’t matter at this stage”, the fact is that the Aston Martin-Honda appears to be a dog.
Don’t take the Spaniard’s word for it, or even that of his, never exactly enthusiastic teammate, just look at the face of Lawrence Stroll.
At a time we were expecting a potential Brawn, we actually appear to be looking at another My Earth Nightmare.
However, other than the obvious issues with the package, Alonso, the most experienced driver in the history of the sport, has been left totally disillusioned by the new formula.
“The role of the driver is dying,” he told Sky Sport Italia. “Here in Bahrain, historically the sequence of corners 10 to 12 has been very challenging,” he continued. “Before, you chose the level of aerodynamic load to be able to do 10 to 12 flat-out, removing load until you could go through there completely flat with new tyres and also in the race. It was a decisive factor of skill to make the difference in qualifying,” he explained.
“Now in 12 we are about 50 km/h slower because we do not want to spend energy there. We want to save it for the straights.
“It won’t be the best driver,” he said of the potential 2026 world champion, “but the one who can best manage his energy consumption.
“Even the chef could drive the car at that speed,” he sighed, “you do not want to waste energy because you need it on the straight.”
Referring to Max Verstappen’s comments, which were instantly dismissed by Lando Norris, Alonso said: “I understand Max’s comments. As a driver you want to make the difference in the corner, going five kilometres per hour faster. But now you are conditioned by how much energy the engine will have on the next straight.
“But at the same time this is Formula 1 and it has always been like that,” he admitted. “Now it’s the energy, last year or two years ago when he won all the races it was the downforce. He could go in the corners at 280 kph and we could go in the corners at 250 kph because we didn’t have the downforce.
“The driver’s role is dying,” he said again. “Give us back real F1, the push to the limit and the true roar!”
Asked specifically about the issues Aston Martin has faced over the course of the test, it was suggested that the gearbox is the main problem.
“Yes and no,” he replied. “It’s one of these issues, but we mustn’t forget that for the first time in the team’s history, we’re producing the gearbox ourselves. It’s a challenge; we need more information.
“In 2023, McLaren was getting lapped in Bahrain, but then they won races,” he pointed out. “F1 is a complex sport. Sometimes a single setup change can make you 0.8 seconds faster or slower. When we get everything optimized, we can find seconds.
“I hope we see a clearer picture next week,” he added. “We’re realistic, we won’t be the fastest in Melbourne, we started from behind and slow, but it’s hard to gauge exactly where we stand.
“Missing the Barcelona tests was a big deal,” he admitted. “We didn’t drive in Barcelona, we didn’t have a pre-season test day, and for us, the real first test is here in Bahrain. That’s why we’re finding little issues here and there on every run.
“This is affecting our programme,” he continued. “When you can’t run smoothly, you can’t develop the set-up. For example, we’re going to test the suspension stiffness, we do a lap, but something shows up in the data, and we need to change the sensor. An hour later when we get back on the track, the track temperature has changed. We’re facing limitations in finding performance because we can’t run consistently.
“Other teams probably overcame these difficulties during their filming days or the first days in Barcelona, but unfortunately, we’re experiencing them now. We’re behind schedule and dealing with some major challenges. With aero, you need time to fully understand it, but we have Newey, so step by step we can build a strong car. We hope to have everything ready in time.”