Fernando Alonso says his Aston Martin team is no longer fighting for anything this season but learning for the future.
After a remarkable start to its 2023 campaign that saw Alonso claim five podiums in six races, Aston Martin progressively lost its momentum, the team falling back in line as it was out-developed by its rivals over the summer.
Alonso’s best result in the back-half of the season is a sixth-place finish in Qatar. In Austin and in Mexico City last weekend, two races where the team performed quite poorly – save for Lance Stroll’s run to P7 at COTA - the Spaniard suffered his first two retirements of 2023.
Ahead of next weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix, and with three rounds to go, Alonso has curbed his expectations and insists the team’s work is now fully geared towards 2024.
"Honestly, we are not fighting for anything," he said, quoted by Motorsport.com.
"We will learn, even if we have to start from the pitlane, and you know that is more useful than just spending the weekend.
"In the constructors' championship, we are locked in in the position we are. In the driver's championship, we will lose a couple of places.
"But I mean, it is incredible that we are in front of Ferraris, or George or Lando or whatever, but we will lose those positions. They have a very fast car. And yet, let's see what we can do."
©AstonMartin
Alonso still hopes that the team’s current efforts to improve its fortunes will allow it to conclude its year “on a high”.
"We are working as much as we can," he said. "It's not that we are just happy with the situation. It's not the position we wish we were, but at the same time, we are working very hard to reverse the situation.
"And sometimes you learn more from the difficulties than from the celebrations. So right now we have a difficult time.
"And we are trying to do as many tests as possible, giving as much feedback as possible to the factory in Silverstone. And hopefully, as I said, finish on a high, and not on a low."
©AstonMartin
But for the two-time world champion, Aston closing the curtain on a high does not mean on the podium.
“We still need to go to three different places, three different circuits, which will give us more data again on the car,” he added.
"It depends on what we call finish on a high. If we think that we will fight for podiums or something like that? I don't think so.
“But to finish in a competitive way, I think we still have the possibility."
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