Fernando Alonso has admitted his return to the points was a relief and a weight off his shoulders, but said top 10 finishes have to be “mandatory” for Aston Martin.
Alonso started the season with eight straight races without scoring until finishing ninth in front of his home crowd at Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.
After Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll finished sixth and ninth at the opening two races, the team had not been in the top 10 since.
Aston Martin are ninth in the championship, level on points with Sauber — who were buoyed by Nico Hulkenberg’s shock drive to fifth — and five points ahead of Alpine.
Asked about finally moving off zero, Alonso said: “It’s [good] just to free a little bit of pressure on everyone’s shoulders in the team and try to get some consistency in to Q3.
“This was the third consecutive race in Q3, this is the first point, so if we build something that you are constantly in the top 10 on Saturdays and Sundays, definitely it will help everyone.
“We need to score points, also with Sauber scoring a lot of points today, it’s mandatory for us that we score points every weekend or every two weekends, so we need to raise the level.”
Much is expected of the longer term Aston Martin project, with team owner Lawrence Stroll making sweeping investments in facilities and personnel to make the team a championship contender under the upcoming rules change in 2026. The most notable signing has been F1 car design legend Adrian Newey, who officially started work earlier this year.
Despite the growing expectations around 2026 and beyond, the feeling around the current campaign had been flat.
Alonso’s timely points finish was doubly important for Aston Martin with teammate Stroll withdrawing from the event after qualifying, citing unmanageable hand and wrist pain.
Alonso’s eight races without a point was his worst start to a season sine his 2001 rookie season with Minardi and his 2015 season with McLaren, the year remembered for its disastrous start to life with Honda power.
Source: espn.com