Aston Martin star Fernando Alonso is not having the season he would have expected after a brilliant debut campaign with the British manufacturer.
Fernando Alonso proved why he was a double world champion in 2023, securing eight podium finishes and more than 200 points for Aston Martin while his teammate Lance Stroll failed to reach triple figures in the Drivers’ Championship.
However, the 2024 season hasn’t gone to plan for Alonso or Aston Martin.
The British manufacturer have ambitions to be challenging for race wins and even championships in the future.
Aston Martin are desperate to hire Adrian Newey which would be a coup after confirming earlier in the year that he would be leaving Red Bull.
The likes of Andy Cowell and Enrico Cardile have arrived at the team recently and should have a positive impact not only next year but also going into the new regulations in 2026.
However, Alonso has extremely high standards and has been left frustrated by the team’s fortunes.
Martin Brundle admitted in Austria he couldn’t understand why Aston Martin are struggling so much and Brundle even suggested that Alonso had lost his attacking spirit.
Speaking on The Race Members Club Podcast, journalist Edd Straw admitted that when Alonso is frustrated on the track, there’s one team in particular that winds him up.
The Spanish driver has spent time with more than half of the current teams on the grid in their various guises.
However, Alonso has a particular vendetta with Alpine following how his exit from the team at the end of 2022 was handled.
Now, he spends time on track moaning about Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon and the team’s strategy during each session.
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Fernando Alonso frustrated with Alpine team on the team radio
Talking about the Spaniard’s radio messages, Straw said: “It’s great that everyone can hear them [driver radio messages] but people are quite cautious about what they say and certainly try not to be too flat out.
“But then again, it’s a pressured, stressful situation, so they do also say quite interesting things and quite provocative things.
“My favourite is Fernando Alonso who whenever he encounters an Alpine doing something difficult because he’s still got a chip on his shoulder from being at Alpine and feeling like he had to leave because they didn’t want him for too long because they felt he would be too old, he is always complaining about what Alpines are doing and their strategy and so on and so forth.
“He did it in Austria for example.”
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Fernando Alonso’s Alpine exit triggered French team’s decline in Formula 1
It’s no wonder that Alonso isn’t the biggest fan of Alpine given how he left the team and at the time it looked like a strange decision.
Aston Martin were struggling with Stroll and Sebastian Vettel in the car, while Alonso and Ocon were regular points scorers for the French team.
However, as soon as Alonso decided to move on, Alpine missed out on reserve driver Oscar Piastri too after he was poached by McLaren to replace Daniel Ricciardo.
Since then, Alpine have fallen down the pecking order and it took them six races this season to score their first point.
They currently only sit above Williams and Sauber in the Constructors’ Championship and have already decided to part ways with Ocon heading into 2025.
Ocon especially has a reputation for not being the easiest driver to race against and Alonso throughout his storied F1 career has never been shy to share his opinions.
It’s telling that he still has a strained relationship with the manufacturer who brought him back to Formula 1 in 2021.
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