Fernando Alonso inspects the McLaren for « inspiration

Lando Norris took his second win of the season at the Dutch Grand Prix with McLaren. After the race, Fernando Alonso was seen closely inspecting Oscar Piastri’s McLaren. He admits that his Aston Martin team has a lot to learn from their rivals, including McLaren, who dominate the field.

This weekend, Fernando Alonso was caught by his own car cameras while inspecting the floor of Oscar Piastri’s McLaren single-seater. After the video was shared by Formula 1, the two-time world champion explained why he examined the car in the first place. If the team is performing well at the moment, it is also an opportunity for others to be inspired and hope to get some improvements.

Lando Norris’s victory at the Dutch Grand Prix marks McLaren’s third success this season. With a first race win in Miami, the Briton achieves the second first place of his career. If the results have been so surprising, it’s because the race leader finished with an impressive lead of 22.8 seconds over the second-place finisher. This is the largest margin seen in a race since the start of the season.

It must be said that this year, McLaren has been particularly successful. The team has experienced a significant performance improvement after a complicated start to the year in 2023. This season, after introducing several modifications, including the rear wing, the extension of the wing, brakes, suspensions, and the floor, McLaren has stayed in the points. These improvements have made the MCL38 the best car currently on the grid.

If the single-seaters are as performant, they also attract the attention of their rivals. Last year, Aston Martin had developed a particularly efficient single-seater and regularly occupied the third step of the podium with its driver Fernando Alonso. Unfortunately, a completely different situation is unfolding in these last Grand Prix races. During the Dutch Grand Prix, non-televised images showed the Aston Martin driver closely examining Oscar Piastri’s McLaren after the race. Squatting near the back of the car, he took the opportunity to inspect the floor which significantly contributes to the aerodynamic downforce sustained by the ground effect. The video was widely shared after being broadcast, reaching the ears of the Spaniard.

Aston Martin is trying to save its place in the championship.

Interviewed on the subject by DAZN Spain, Fernando Alonso explained that his actions were a result of McLaren’s superiority in the Formula 1 championship. He would be willing to let Aston Martin draw inspiration from the leading car. “It’s the car that dominates the championship at the moment,” he said. “You always try to draw inspiration from winning cars, so we have a lot to learn from them.”

The recent improvements to his team have not yielded the expected results, leaving the team in the middle of the field. While the team remained below 100 points in the constructors’ championship, Fernando Alonso finished tenth at Zandvoort. If Aston Martin has little chance of obtaining real information from McLaren, they also have no way to progress according to the driver. “With the four teams so far ahead of the rest, we are still fighting to be P9 and P10. In Monza, we will also be at most P9 and P10, and it will be the same for all races until Abu Dhabi,” he said.