Fernando Alonso suggested that F1 fans would have been excused if they were left with the impression that he had sat out last weekend's Italian Grand Prix, for it was an "anonymous race that no one will remember" as far as the Aston Martin driver was concerned.
Alonso launched his afternoon of racing at Monza from P10 on the grid and crossed the checkered flag one position higher, having endured a rather solitary run to the checkered flag.
But as uneventful as his day at the office may have seemed from the outside, it wasn't an easy Sunday drive for the two-time world champion at the wheel of a car that suffered from a lack of grid.
"Obviously, many lessons to take from this race," Alonso commented. "We weren’t competitive so that’s the main focus for us, trying to understand what we need to do different on this type of circuit.
"It is frustrating because it was a very demanding race, mentally and physically, to drive the car with very low grip. It was very tricky to drive, one of the most difficult races of the year for me and the worst result [for me this year].
"An anonymous race that no one will remember, but it has been a tough one. But as I said, hopefully good lessons to take from here from the car, the data that we have from the race and we get better next time."
It's likely Aston always expected its high-drag AMR23 to struggle in Monza's low-downforce environment, so raking in a few points will have perhaps satisfied the team overall.
However, the low-key result reconciled with Ferrari's double top-four finish means that the Scuderia has progressed to third in F1's Constructors' standings, 11 points ahead of Aston Martin.
"I think the car and the efficiency of the car is maybe not as it should be for this kind of track," Alonso acknowledged. "It seems to have been our weakness and we know that.
"Now we need to get better and bring some new ideas.
"I think we are executing the maximum from the car. Sometimes unfortunately it’s ninth like today, sometimes its second like last week.
"But we are not doing any mistakes, with the strategy or the pitstops – not making any big mistakes our competitors made at the beginning of the year so we have a good gap in terms of points.
"It’s getting closer, even Ferrari I think is ahead of us now with this result, so let’s bounce back in Singapore."
Singapore's Marina Bay high-downforce characteristics should indeed bring Aston and Alonso back into play.
"It will be better than Monza for sure! But to win a race, we know how tough it is with Red Bull being outstanding every Sunday," noted the 42-year-old.
"So, we will see if we are contenders in Singapore. I’m not sure. Every weekend the order seems to change.
"The last two street circuits, Alpine was very strong with Esteban [Ocon] in Monaco, and in Baku it was Ferrari dominating with Leclerc on pole position. So let’s see in Singapore."
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