Alonso explains 'dying' Aston Martin after latest rough weekend

Fernando Alonso has explained the major issue with this year's Aston Martin following a second successive miserable weekend for the team.

Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll trailed home a disappointing 15th and 17th respectively at the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix, leaving the four-time F1 champion without a point from the first four races this year. It is his worst start to a campaign since 2017.

Alonso claims the problems with the car are "a little bit everywhere", although there is one particular area he hopes the team can address with improvements that are due shortly.

"Low speed was our weakest sector in Australia, Japan and China," said Alonso, speaking to media, including RacingNews365. "Bahrain is all about low speed, and it has been our least competitive weekend. So that's where the focus has to be.

"We are trying everything we can. It's not that we are just happy with the results. We just need to make it to the track as fast as
possible."

Quantifying the problem with the low speed, in particular, Alonso added: "It's tricky at the exit, but also mid-corner.

"It's like the car is dying in the low speed. [It is] A well-known problem that we had last year, and we still have this year.

"So we need some improvement. It was a difficult weekend. We expected to be slow with all the low-speed content in Bahrain, but we need to improve the car. It's not only the low speed, I think it's a little bit everywhere, and we need to get better.

"Hopefully Jeddah [Saudi Arabia this weekend] will be a little bit more friendly to us but scoring points seems difficult this year."

Alonso needs to be 'very, very lucky'

Stroll finished sixth in a chaotic season-opening race in Australia and was ninth in China. Alonso retired in both races, crashing at Melbourne's Albert Park before sustaining a brake issue that forced him out early at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Alonso is hopeful Saudi Arabia will prove more forgiving for him and the team. He qualified fourth at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit last year before finishing fifth, although the car was more competitive at the start of last season.

"I really think Jeddah will be a little bit better for us," said Alonso. "But I think to be in the points is a little bit difficult for us.

"At the moment, the top four teams are in another league. And then there is always Haas, Williams, AlphaTauri [Racing Bulls] a little bit ahead of us as well.

"So you are quickly the seventh or eighth team, and in those positions, you cannot score points unless you are very, very lucky.

"So let's see. We will try our best."