Fernando Alonso explains positive Aston Martin radio messages despite disaster qualifying

It was business as usual in Austrian GP qualifying as Aston Martin Formula 1 team drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll could not better P21 and P22 on the grid.

Not only was the Spaniard 2.859 seconds off pacesetter Kimi Antonelli in Q1 around the Red Bull Ring’s short lap, but there was also a yawning gap of 0.997s to the quickest Cadillac of Sergio Perez, the new team having been boosted by a major aero upgrade package.

Yet despite those painful numbers, an upbeat Alonso sent a positive message on team radio as he drove back to the pits, hailing progress and saying “we’re getting closer”, while also insisting that he had done “a good lap.”

It was a very public effort to give everyone in the beleaguered Aston Martin and Honda camps a boost.

However, it also reflected genuine operational improvements that are being masked in terms of lap time by the lack of aero developments pending the summer upgrade package.

“Of course, I think all the radio messages are private conversations, as we always said,” joked Alonso when asked by Crash.net what signal he was trying to send. “And I think inside the team we faced some challenges this weekend, maybe with the altitude, a different track, very thirsty on energy. 

“Since FP1, I think we made huge steps on drivability, on gearbox, downshift, upshift, and energy consistency. I think the deployment has been a little bit inconsistent for the first part of the year, so we got to qualifying, on every lap you have a different speed on the straights and approaching to the corners. 

“And I think we put a lot of emphasis here to improve that, and I think it was the first quali of the year that I had the same deployment all three laps, and that allowed me to push the limits in the corner,  because I knew the approaching speed to the next corner.”

It was that steady progress through the three practice sessions that Alonso appreciated.

“I think the steps we did since FP1 to quali, they were very encouraging,” he said. “And we are at the back of the grid, even Cadillac, our closest rival made a big step here with upgrades. But the team is still working like if we were fighting for points or podiums, so behind the scenes this is important. 

“It's very [easy] to get demotivated when you are last every weekend, but on the team, no one is giving up, and they are working to improve the car every session. 

“So from the team, from the driver point of view, it gives you that motivation as well to don't give up, because they are not giving up. So that's probably what I meant today, because it was positive to see the improvements that we were able to make from FP1 to quali.”

Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack has noted that it’s important for the team to work on all areas such as the gearbox and PU operation in preparation for the arrival of the aero upgrade package, and Alonso agrees with that approach.

“Exactly, I think even if we added the upgraded package in Miami or Canada, I think we were not ready in many small things, like this deployment issue, gearbox, things that we talk about,” he said. 

“So I think we are using these races until the new package come to really improve all this - not minor, because I think there is a lot of lap time also in this kind of thing. I'm in same position as the last four Grand Prix, but a happier feeling today than any other quali.”

Alonso stresses that he appreciates how hard both the team and Honda are working.

"Sure, not only here, but in the factories,” he noted. “As I said, it's difficult to motivate the 1000 people to work and to find performance when every weekend you seem further behind, but we stay united. 

“Everyone is working flat out. As I said, they are inspiring us drivers. We are not seeing all the progress, because we only feel the bad news, every time we see the timed lap. 

“But when you see the garage, when you see the meetings, the debriefs, the factory, you wonder how much you need to push and how much you need to improve as well, because they are still at a very high level, even if the result doesn't show that. So you need to keep up to that level, and you need to perform at your maximum.”