Fernando Alonso is keen to return to action in 2025 after scoring some ‘important’ points at the 2024 finale in Abu Dhabi, with the Spaniard praising Aston Martin for how they have responded to ‘difficulties’ throughout the year.
Having started the 2023 campaign in memorably strong style – with Alonso taking six podiums in the opening eight races – this season did not bring the same success for the team, their best result being a P5 for Alonso in Saudi Arabia.
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However, the Silverstone-based squad still took fifth place in the constructors’ championship and Alonso was able to round out the year with back-to-back points in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, where he finished in seventh and ninth respectively.
When quizzed after the finale at Yas Marina on how important those points were to Aston Martin following a challenging year, Alonso responded: “Yeah, they were important. I think to finish on a positive note in Qatar and Abu Dhabi – two double points – feels good.
Alonso ‘ready to go for 2025 after a little reset’
“I think well deserved as well because the team here on trackside never stopped working and extracting the maximum from the cars so, yeah, [I] did enjoy today’s race.
“[There was] quite a lot of action, especially on the first lap and, yeah, ready to go for 2025 with a little bit of a reset on things. Also the car, I think we learned a lot of things this year that we need to apply into next year’s project so, yeah, looking forward.”
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In terms of whether there are positives to take from what has been a tough season, Alonso again hailed the team for never giving up despite the trying times they have faced.
“I think we had some difficulties this year, more than last year, and the team [were] responding well to those adversities and to those challenges,” the two-time champion explained.
Stroll ‘looking forward to next year’ after tough season with Aston Martin
“This weekend is a good example, we were not happy with the car but it’s not that we accept it – we just race. We’d had a slow pace, we found more performance in the car and we still finished in the points, so we are never giving up. That’s the way to go.”
It was not such a positive end to the year for team mate Lance Stroll, who finished the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 14th place after receiving a five-second time penalty for track limits infringements.
Asked if he was glad to see a difficult season come to an end or if it had been nice to enjoy some racing en route to the chequered flag, Stroll answered: “Yeah, we were racing, but [I’m] looking forward to some time off and [to then] come back next year.”
Boosting Aston Martin’s morale in 2025 will be the arrival of F1 technical guru Adrian Newey at the Silverstone-based squad, the storied designer set to start work for the team on March 1 next year.
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