Aston Martin has witnessed a meteoric rise this Formula One season. From lingering around in the middle of the grid to directly posing a threat to Red Bull and Mercedes, the Silverstone-based team has come a long way. Now that they are in the front of the grid, the team’s next goal is to win. And for this goal to be met, 41-year-old veteran driver Fernando Alonso is their best bet.
This season, Fernando Alonso has recorded six podium finishes. Not only that, he has single-handedly kept the Aston Martin alive in the constructor’s championship. But with Mercedes catching up with the latest upgrades, the team is under serious pressure to introduce their own upgrades in order to keep the Silver Arrows at Bay. However, Alonso is strictly against the idea of it.
Fernando Alonso Warns Aston Martin For Introducing Upgrades In Austria
Formula One has reached Red Bull’s home circuit in Austria for the latest race weekend. Austria will host the season’s second sprint race with a tweaked format. The original practice session on Friday has been replaced with a qualifying session for the main race. The tweaked format is one of the reasons for Fernando Alonso’s paranoia. He suggested Aston Martin hold off their upgrades as a sprint weekend is not an ideal time to test out the package. The driver needs additional practice sessions to get a better understanding of the car’s behavior during the upgrades.
Another reason for Fernando Alonso‘s hesitation is the steady rise of Mercedes, especially his friendly foe, Lewis Hamilton. Ever since introducing upgrades in Monaco, Mercedes has been unstoppable, and Hamilton has repeatedly posed a threat to Alonso. Also, Mercedes has promised another set of upgrades in the upcoming races, which comes as a setback to Aston Martin and Alonso. Hence, the 41-year-old wants his team to wait until the British GP before introducing the upgrades. It will help the team to analyze the Silver Arrows and work accordingly. Overall, Fernando looked highly under-confident for the Austrian GP and expected an underwhelming performance.
Toto Wolff Expects Mercedes To Perform Better In Austria
Meanwhile, Mercedes is enjoying a significant rise this season. After introducing upgrades in Monaco, the team has gone on to record a podium in all the races held post that. Ahead of the Austrian GP, team boss Toto Wolff has made encouraging promises. He said that the track in Austria would suit the W14. Hence he expects the team to perform better at the venue than they did in Canada. Having said that, the team will surely not take anything for granted and work hard on improving the performance.
Mercedes team principal’s latest comments might scare off the Aston Martin. Earlier, they had only one opponent, Red Bull. But now, with Silver Arrows chasing in, the Silverstone-based team is in a fix and under pressure to introduce the upgrades as soon as possible. Hence, it is possible that the team might ignore Alonso’s warning and go ahead with the upgrades in Austria by any means. Interesting week ahead as the battle between the Spaniard and the British driver will further intensify.