Alonso: Aston losing ground, 'we need to understand why'

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Fernando Alonso admitted that Aston Martin had lost ground in recent races to its direct rivals, and now to McLaren, and needs to understand why.

Alonso ended Saturday's British Grand Prix qualifying session a lowly ninth, the Spaniard's worst result so far this season.

Things had even looked bleak for the Aston charger in the frantic opening segment of qualifying, as he only slipped into Q2 by a small 0.02s margin.

Alonso considered that he had extracted the most from his machine the final top-ten shootout, but the 41-year-old noted that a trio of recent circuits sharing similar characteristics had not been favourable to Aston Martin's AMR23.

2023 British Grand Prix - Qualifying results

"Obviously, I'm never satisfied with between P9 and P12. I think it was not the strongest qualifying for the team so far but difficult to see where we can do a little bit better," Alonso conceded.

"Maybe 0.1s, 0.15s. But more than P8 or something like that, it was impossible.

"We need to keep working, understanding, a few qualifying [sessions] already on circuits that we were not competitive.

"Barcelona, Austria and Silverstone - all three of them seem a little bit similar in a way in track characteristics. So, we need to understand that."

While Aston was outpaced in qualifying by its usual direct rivals, namely Ferrari and Mercedes, Alonso noted that McLaren, which was 'best of the rest' behind Red Bull on Saturday, had now also become a force to be reckoned.

"They've been very fast," Alonso said about his former team. "They deserve the position they are in. It's not like a casualty. They've been fast and improving. So, I'm happy for them.

"Especially after a few races, I think McLaren was very fast last year in Austria and Silverstone. They were so-so in the championship and this year they are also fast in certain circuits."

Alonso suggested that Aston should take advantage of F1's summer break at the end of the month to "reset" itself for the back half of the 2023 season.

"So again, I think we need to go through Budapest and Spa and make a reset after that and see where we are," he said.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.