Fernando Alonso delivers defiant statement after dismal Aston Martin start

Fernando Alonso has vowed to "not give up" after his worst start to an F1 season in eight years for Aston Martin.

After three races heading into the Bahrain GP, Alonso is yet to score a point after retiring in Australia and China before finishing 11th last Sunday in Japan. 

It is the second-worst start to a season of his long F1 career, with only 2017 for McLaren a lower point when he posted two DNFs and a 14th, although he was not running on track at the end of that particular Bahrain GP. 

For the 2025 race, Alonso qualified 13th due to Aston Martin struggling in the early part of the season in the midfield, although Lance Stroll has had a bright start with sixth in Australia and ninth in China. 

The Canadian fell in Q1 in Sakhir, as two-time champion Alonso vowed to fight for the team in the "extreme conditions".

"It was difficult to guess we'd be P13, so it will be difficult to get points, but if we achieve points, it is a small victory," Alonso told media when asked by RacingNews365 in Sakhir if he was expecting a long season ahead.

"For us, every step that we can do, every understanding and improvement of the car, the team is working day and night here, especially under these extreme conditions, and they are not giving up. 

"I will not give up!

"I've won three times here, so to be P13 is not the result that I wish or dream of, but at the same time, we have to accept the situation of where we are in terms of pace.

"We haven't shown pace the whole weekend, all the free practices have been difficult and so on, but P13 is probably the best we could do, so I'm happy for the team that we are still working even in the difficult times and never give up. 

"Points could be close if we do a good job on the tyres and with the strategy so we will do our best. It will be a challenging race with maybe not such great pace and with faster cars behind, but I'm looking forward to it."