Alonso: 'Weight lifted' from Aston Martin after Sprint beakthrough

A "weight has been lifted off the shoulders" of Aston Martin following its improved performance so far in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, according to Fernando Alonso.

Aston Martin's slump in performance continued in the Mexico City race with no points scored on what was the team's worst showing of the season.

However, during the Interlagos weekend, the AMR23 has been a competitive package, with Lance Stroll and Alonso qualifying third and fourth for the Grand Prix.

While Alonso could not score points in the Sprint, he climbed from 15th to 11th and was a few seconds behind the final points-scorer Carlos Sainz.

Alonso is battling Sainz and Lando Norris for fourth in the Drivers', with Sainz leading the way but the two-time World Champion has seen encouraging signs from the car as the team looks to rally and end the season in good form following its excellent start.

Alonso's relief at Aston gains

"We are more competitive, we are a bit happier with the car, and we seem more competitive since FP1, so we will take some extra confidence into the race," Alonso told media including RacingNews365.

"The triple-header obviously put a lot of stress on everyone. It is difficult to analyse data, difficult to go back to the factory and unite the team but the team was working to solve the problems and find solutions - and the performance here in Brazil is going in the right direction.

"Especially after this race, it is some kind of relief, some weight off the shoulders that we are going in the right direction, and it is a boost for everyone in the factory.

"We really needed this type of performance in Brazil, and [I was] a little bit worried if we had another weekend where we were struggling, but we've always kept being pragmatic and doing tests and experiments even if they were painful.

"Hopefully now we have a lot of data to analyse."