“We’re two second behind Ferrari”: Fernando Alonso surprised with overachieving in Singapore GP

Fernando Alonso believes that eighth place was the best result Aston Martin could have hoped for at the Singapore GP. Speaking to media, including Sportskeeda, after the race, the Spanish driver noted that being just two seconds behind a Ferrari was an achievement in itself.

Starting seventh on the grid, Alonso successfully held off Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez to secure P8. He emphasized that staying close to a Ferrari was noteworthy, especially since his former team was in a position to win the race.

Although Alonso was stuck behind Hulkenberg for a significant part of the middle stint, a well-executed undercut allowed him to overtake the Haas driver and solidify his result. When asked by Sportskeeda if there was more to achieve in the Singapore race, Alonso said:

“I think we should be 15th and 16th. We are 8th, two seconds behind a Ferrari, so I don't know if I can do more, I can win the race, but not today.”

Asked how difficult it was to get up to eighth position given their pace, he said:

“I mean, I just tried to follow Nico and try to undercut him at one point. But yeah, the Ferraris were... I mean, they should have won this race probably, you know, they were the fastest car this weekend. So, you know, it was not my race.”

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Fernando Alonso believes eighth place was more than what could be achieved in the midfield

Fernando Alonso felt that finishing eighth in the Singapore GP exceeded Aston Martin’s usual expectations of ninth or tenth in most races. With the top eight positions typically dominated by the leading teams, Alonso considered this result as the team’s maximum potential, especially since they managed to finish ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.

Alonso acknowledged that outperforming one of the top teams added extra value to an already strong result for Aston Martin. When asked if it was the maximum result achieved given their pace deficit, Alonso said:

“Yeah, absolutely, I think behind the top four teams just in front of Checo. So normally it's ninth and tenth available today. Finishing eighth is a little bit better than our best dreams. So yeah, again good points, but still one lap behind and not great pace, difficult car to drive the whole weekend so yeah we are just lucky we got points. But it was possible to be P15 and have the same feeling.”

When asked if performance will get harder once the sport returns to the conventional circuits, the Aston Martin driver replied:

“Yeah probably probably I think the last street tracks here in Baku did maybe gave an opportunity but yeah I think now we need to raise the level, we have some new parts coming in the next few races, hopefully they help to come back to a more strong performance.”

Fernando Alonso has secured top 10 finishes for Aston Martin in both street races at Baku and Singapore, collecting 12 points across the doubleheader. In the drivers’ standings, the 42-year-old is currently ninth with 62 points, while Aston Martin sits fifth in the constructors’ championship with 86 points.

The two-time world champion revealed that the team is expecting upgrades for the Austin GP which will aim at improving their performance for the remainder of the season.