Alonso concedes ‘no surprises’ at Aston Martin pace in Las Vegas

Fernando Alonso reflected that Aston Martin’s difficult weekend in Las Vegas was ‘no surprise’ after a “lonely” race.

Alonso finished 13th in the Las Vegas Grand Prix but gained two places with the post-race disqualification of both McLaren drivers, leaving him agonisingly close to his first points in over a month.

The weekend was difficult from the start, with neither Aston Martin driver troubling the top 10 in Free Practice 1 or 2, before Lance Stroll went eighth fastest in FP3, and Alonso seventh in Qualifying, both sessions that took place in either partial or complete wet conditions.

“Just a challenging weekend,” said Alonso. “No surprises, the race was also a challenge. We didn’t have the pace to be in the points, and we needed a bit of speed. We were slow in the straights, so it was difficult to battle out there, but we tried, qualifying well. We didn’t have the pace, so we’ll try again next week.”

Asked if he had at least taken enjoyment from some of his overtakes, Alonso added: “Really? I think I did one. I hope you enjoyed them!

“Honestly, it was a long race. We didn’t have the pace and nothing really happened around us, so it was a little bit lonely for most of the stints. I don’t know on TV, but inside the cockpit, it was not the best race for us.”

Stroll’s race ended before it had really begun, with the Canadian retiring at Turn 1 after Gabriel Bortoleto misjudged his braking and clattered into the Aston Martin, causing Stroll’s first retirement of the season.

“I just [got] hit at the start of the race, and that was it,” summarised Stroll. “It happens. It’s racing. Sometimes these things happen and it is what it is.”