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Fernando Alonso feels Aston Martin is currently trying to “over-develop” as a racing force off-track in its attempt to play in what he sees as the Champions League of F1.
Following a remarkable winter of development, Aston Martin vaulted itself from seventh in last season’s constructors’ standings to possessing the second-quickest car for the majority of the opening eight races.
In tandem, the team has moved into a new state-of-the-art factory, and is now steadily working towards the completion of its own wind tunnel as it seeks to fiercely fight with its rivals on and off track.
But after taking a wrong turn with its upgrades a couple of months ago, Aston Martin is now attempting to recapture the form that wowed Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes in the early stages.
As to how it does that, Alonso said: ‘This is Formula 1 and things are changing so quickly.
“It (the early form) was a surprise for us. The car was fast but I think the team was outstanding over the winter, understanding what the problems were last year.
“I think everything – reliability, the strategy, we did things really good in most of the races to get those results.
“But it’s not only the pace of the car. You need to master everything over the weekend, from free practice one until Sunday.
“And then, yeah, I think we are like playing in the Champions League at the moment and we are finding ourselves with the very top teams, trying to over-develop off-track. This is going to be the biggest challenge for Aston Martin now.”
Alonso still scored points in all 12 of the races over the first period of the season, and with the car sporting new upgrades for this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, it is certain that streak will continue barring unreliability or incident.
As to whether the team has rediscovered its Midas touch and will again be on the podium, the two-time champion is uncertain.
Alonso is unsurprisingly sceptical of matching his 50 percent podium success rate from the first stanza after collecting four third-place finishes and two runner-up positions in those 12 races.
The 42-year-old insists he “will not be disappointed” if there is not another podium this year given how “it is more difficult now”.
He added: “I think there is more competition up there, fighting for podiums, with four teams now fighting quite closely.
“So it’s going to be difficult to get another six (podiums) in the second half. I will be happy with two or three, I hope.”
