Fernando Alonso says the Red Bull Ring's characteristics were not well suited to Aston Martin's AMR23 which partly justified the team's subdued performance in Austria.
Alonso was never in the hunt for a podium finish in Spielberg where he finished sixth on the road before gaining a position in the pecking order thanks to a stack of post-race track limit penalties that moved him up to fifth.
From the outset of the weekend, the Spaniard was outpaced by both Ferraris but also by the upgraded McLaren of Lando Norris.
On Friday, Alonso qualified seventh, having been outpaced by his teammate Lance Stroll. Although he quickly had the measure of the Canadian on Sunday, he was unable to challenge the Ferraris or Norris up ahead although he did succeed in preceding both Mercedes drivers at the checkered flag.
Alonso reckoned that abandoning his initial long opening stint strategy on the hard tyre when a Virtual Safety Car materialized early on in the race had weighed on his result.
The timing of his pitstop was sub-optimal as the VSC ended while he was still being serviced in the pits.
"It was more or less the maximum we could achieve today," he admitted after the race.
"It was very close with Lando and the Mercedes’, and I think [we could have had] maybe more clear communication for the pit stops but I don’t think it changed the outcome of the race – today was the maximum."
©AstonMartin
Alonso pondered why his AMR23 was not as fast-paced and lively as it has typically been this season.
"I don’t know, I think it’s a little bit of everything," he said. "Maybe the circuit didn’t suit our car. Last year, Aston struggled a lot in Austria as well. So there are some similarities from last year as well.
"Haas here was very fast, I think it was sixth and seventh on the grid last year. They were fast this year, too.
"So a little bit of the circuit, and a little bit of the upgrades that everyone else brought here. But yeah, we should not be too worried. We have another opportunity next week."
Indeed, Alonso was optimistic for Aston's home race at Silverstone this week.
"I think we should be okay at Silverstone," he said. "It's an incredible track to drive with the fast corners.
"We race at home too with the factory just a few metres away so we will give it all."
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