Fernando Alonso: “Hopefully we can bounce back this weekend with a strong result”

On the back of one of the trickiest weekends of the season for the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team at the Hungaroring, Fernando Alonso hopes they can analyse just what caused them to struggle so they can rectify that this weekend in Belgium.

Alonso could only finish ninth in Hungary, his worst result of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season so far, with the team finishing behind both Oracle Red Bull Racing, McLaren F1 Team, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team and Scuderia Ferrari drivers on Sunday.

The two-time World Champion has always enjoyed racing at Spa-Francorchamps, and he is eager to turn around his recent form and secure a good result for Aston Martin as they look to maintain their third place in the Constructors’ Championship.

“We didn’t have the easiest weekend in Budapest and ninth was the maximum from Sunday with three points in total collected for the team,” said Alonso. 

“Belgium is up next and we’ve had a few days to analyse everything from Hungary. It’s a very different challenge here with the high-speed nature of this circuit and I’ve always enjoyed racing at Spa.

“It’s a challenge we are looking forward to tackling though, and hopefully we can bounce back this weekend with a strong result. It’s another Sprint weekend here, so we only have one practice session before Qualifying to get everything optimised, which is a test for all teams, especially with a mixed looking forecast.

“I’m looking forward to getting back in the cockpit of the AMR23 so soon after Budapest!”

“We’ll be managing our expectations going into this weekend” – Lance Stroll

Team-mate Lance Stroll does not believe Spa-Francorchamps will suit the AMR23, with its performance on the long straights and through high-speed corners tending to not to be amongst their strongest characteristics.

Stroll, who scored a point for tenth place last weekend in Hungary, says they will be managing their expectations heading into the weekend in Belgium, but they will be still looking to deliver the best possible result for Aston Martin.

“Spa-Francorchamps is a very different circuit to the Hungaroring, with lots of long straights and high-speed corners,” said Stroll.  

“We’re learning that those characteristics aren’t particularly suited to the AMR23, which favours the lower and medium-speed corners, so I think we’ll be managing our expectations going into this weekend.

“That being said, the goal still remains the same: to deliver the best possible result for the team.”

Lance Stroll does not believe his AMR23 will suit Spa-Francorchamps this weekend – Credit: Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team