Martin Brundle has issued Aston Martin star Fernando Alonso a ‘torrid’ verdict after seeing the two-time Formula 1 champion ‘struggle’ at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix.
The 42-year-old has endured a difficult time at the Red Bull Ring with an underwhelming run of results continuing. Alonso has been the second Aston Martin driver in every session so far at the Austrian GP. Lance Stroll has beaten the Spaniard in practice and the Sprint sessions.
Aston Martin qualified in P12 and P13 for the F1 Sprint at the Austrian GP with Stroll posting the superior lap time by a mere 0.031 seconds. But while the 25-year-old gained places over 23 laps to finish in P10, Alonso fell back to P15 with a 12.980-second deficit to the Canadian.
Martin Brundle brands Fernando Alonso’s form since his new Aston Martin deal ‘torrid’
Alonso crossed the finish line running in P16, as well, after losing a further spot to Haas star Nico Hulkenberg on L22. But the stewards slapped the German with a 10-second penalty for forcing the Spaniard off the road at Turn 3. Hulkenberg locked up but did stay on the circuit.
Re-gaining P15 was little comfort for Alonso, though, and Brundle feels his results have been ‘torrid’ since signing a new contract with Aston Martin in April. The Silverstone squad gifted the Oviedo native terms taking him up to at least the 2026 season and F1’s new regulations.
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His new deal preceded taking P7 in the Chinese GP and P9 in the Miami GP. But Alonso only has one top-10 finish in the past four rounds with P6 in the Canadian GP. His difficult Sprint at the Austrian GP only added to Alonso’s woes and Brundle feels he is lost with the AMR24.
“He re-signed for them and is having a torrid time since then,” Brundle said on Sky Sports F1 (29/6, 11:31). “He certainly struggled. Stroll out-qualified him for this race and just generally he cannot find a way with that car.”
Fernando Alonso expected a tough time with Aston Martin’s upgrades failing
Alonso ended each of the first six Grand Prix in the points, before regressing massively from the Miami GP. The Spaniard has not been shy to hide his frustrations with how Aston Martin have regressed, either. Alonso claimed Aston Martin’s upgrades make them ‘worse’ in Spain.
Seeing teams like Alpine overtake his Silverstone squad in the development race is annoying Alonso. He did not expect their form would improve ahead of the Austrian GP, either, and is expecting another tough time at the British GP next week as they wait for further upgrades.
The Silverstone squad’s struggles ahead of their home round next week may even be leaving Alonso questioning re-committing to Aston Martin. He was out of contract at the end of this year and Alonso was of interest to Mercedes as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton, as well.
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