Fernando Alonso: Australian GP qualifying Aston Martin's best this season

Australian Grand Prix

Alonso: Australian GP qualifying Aston Martin's best this season

Alonso finished qualifying fourth, behind Max Verstappen and the two Mercedes drivers

Ewan Gale

Saturday 1 April 2023 13:37

Fernando Alonso has labelled Australian Grand Prix qualifying as Aston Martin's best of the season so far despite falling behind Mercedes.

The two-time world champion will start fourth at Albert Park having set a lap time 0.407secs adrift of Max Verstappen's pole-clinching effort.

But a resurgent display from Mercedes saw George Russell and Lewis Hamilton end Saturday second and third quickest, demoting Alonso from the front row he occupied in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago.

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Yet the Spaniard has insisted that this was Aston Martin's best effort of the season when looking at the bigger picture.

"It was very tight," said Alonso. "There were a lot of cars within one or two-tenths and we were in the upper part of that group in Q1 and Q2 – I think I was P2.

"And then in Q3, with a couple of hundredths, we miss the first row of the grid.

"The Mercedes did a very good job in Q3, so still I think the best qualifying of the three for us.

"We were 0.6s [down] in Bahrain, 0.5s in Jeddah and 0.4s here from pole position, so we have to be happy."

Aston Martin strength revealed

Alonso has finished on the podium in both of the opening two races and assessing his prospects for Sunday, he explained: "I feel confident, I feel positive.

"Our strength is still the long run pace so we start on the first two rows of the grid, our strengths are on Sundays, let's use it."