Alonso jokes after Baku: “I locked up… and that is why we did not take pole”

Fernando Alonso resorted to irony after running wide in a corner in Baku. “I was on the limit in that corner, I locked up… It was a driver error and that is why we did not take pole,” he told the international press.

There are few reasons for the weekend to remain a fond memory for the Asturian driver. He knew he would struggle with the Aston Martin AMR26, has accumulated penalties linked to changes to his Honda power unit, while reliability issues disrupted the course of the event. Having qualified 19th, he will ultimately start last for the race, scheduled for 1 p.m. on DAZN.

In that context, Alonso believes he still extracted the maximum from a circuit that suits him. Photographed during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku by Pavel Bendyakov, he said he had found better feelings with the car after practice. “It was difficult and windy, which is typical of Baku. But it went well for me. I found the car much better than in practice, both in the third session and in qualifying. It gave me the confidence to brake late, attack the corners… and I was happy on the chassis side,” he said.

His final lap was intended to improve his benchmarks after getting ahead of the Cadillacs. His best times could have put him on the level of the Audis before that mistake in the corner. Nothing seems to be going his way at present, but the two-time champion is now taking it with a degree of humour while fully aware of the reality of his competitive position.

The issue, in his view, remains the engine. “Yes. We lose one second in the straight-line sector and there are no possibilities left. We can only learn from the car ahead of Malaysia,” Alonso added. The expected engine improvement in Baku appears to be non-existent.

The aim is therefore to make progress without damaging the car. “We do not want to make mistakes and crash the car. We will not be fighting for important positions, and we have to preserve the car because three races are coming and the parts need to be looked after,” he stressed. Alonso nevertheless believes the team has moved forward: “We took another step forward, but we have a long way to go in trying to improve both aspects.”

The penalties accepted in Baku also form part of that component-management approach. “We use these weekends, when we are less competitive, to get newer parts. Engine performance is the same, but we accept the penalties,” he said.

The upcoming rounds in Sepang or Singapore, including a sprint, could provide an opening for the car to move out of the lowest part of the standings. Everything will nevertheless depend on those two distinct realities: the chassis strengths, notably its low degradation and comfort in every scenario, and the engine limitations. In Baku, Alonso can only hope for a chaotic race in which wind or dirt could have an impact. “I went off the track because with a tailwind under braking, you cannot stop the car. There is no braking. It is typical; it is not a different Baku,” he concluded.