Alonso Urges Aston Martin to Solve Mystery of Fading Weekend Pace

Fernando Alonso cut a wry figure after the United States Grand Prix, half-joking that he was glad the weekend didn’t stretch any longer than three days – because Aston Martin’s pace might have vanished entirely by Monday.

His dry humor masked a growing frustration with a pattern that’s become all too familiar for the Silverstone squad: start strong on Friday, hold on through Saturday, then fade away when it matters most on Sunday.

Why it matters:

Aston Martin's consistent struggle to maintain pace from Friday to Sunday is undermining their potential, impacting their championship standing, and causing frustration for their drivers. Solving this 'fading pace' mystery is crucial for the team to convert promising starts into meaningful race results and challenge for higher positions in the constructor standings.

The Details:

• Inconsistent Performance: Alonso noted, "In Qualifying, we were stronger for sure than in race pace." This marks a recurring theme where the AMR23 shows speed over one lap but struggles to sustain it over a full race distance.
• Pattern of Decline: The team's performance typically degrades through the weekend: "on Friday we are very fast, on Saturday we half fast, and then on Sunday, we are struggling more." Alonso's quip highlights the severity of this issue.
• Missed Opportunities: Despite a strong FP1 (fourth fastest) and Sprint Qualifying (sixth), Alonso's race was compromised by a first-lap collision in the Sprint and a struggle to convert his starting position into more than a single point in the Grand Prix.
• Driver Frustration: Alonso openly expressed disappointment despite scoring a point, stating, "we didn't have the pace. We were slow in the race." His message to the team was clear: the problem is fundamental, not just strategic or tire-related.
• Stroll's Recovery: Lance Stroll, starting 19th after a grid penalty from a Sprint collision, demonstrated the car's potential by carving through the field to finish 12th, just outside the points. This indicates that while the car has moments of speed, it's not consistently delivering.

What's next:

Aston Martin needs to rapidly diagnose and rectify the underlying issues causing their weekend-long performance degradation. With only a few races left in the season, understanding why the AMR23's pace vanishes is critical for their ambition to secure higher championship positions. The team will be focusing on data analysis to prepare for the upcoming Mexican Grand Prix, hoping to finally convert their Friday promise into Sunday points. If they can solve this puzzle, it could provide significant momentum and learning for their 2024 campaign.