Martin Brundle was far from impressed with Aston Martin’s race pace during the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday evening.
Fernando Alonso couldn’t capitalise on a strong showing in qualifying, while Lance Stroll’s chances of scoring decent points were ended heading into the first corner.
Commentating on the race for Sky Sports F1, Brundle was underwhelmed by the team in British Racing Green.
Brundle unimpressed with Aston Martin in Bahrain GP
The Bahrain Grand Prix appears to have shown that there is still a clear split in the midfield of the grid although Red Bull are very much the dominant force in the paddock.
Max Verstappen strolled to another victory from pole position and Sergio Perez did what he so often struggled to do in 2023 and finished second after a tricky qualifying session.
The Ferraris established themselves as the best of the rest despite Charles Leclerc’s struggles, with Mercedes and McLaren fairly well-matched.
It leaves Aston Martin fifth in the pecking order and Martin Brundle was underwhelmed by what he’d seen from the team in Bahrain.
While he and David Croft did declare Stroll’s recovery to tenth as ‘decent’, it was assumed that they would be closer to the top four cars.
They may at least take solace from the fact that the hotly-tipped RB team still have some ground to make up.
Aston Martin have work to do after race in Sakhir
Heading into the final stages of the race, Brundle said: “Yeah you have to say the Aston Martin’s race pace tonight, Alonso and Stroll has not been particularly impressive.
“It looks as if Fernando pulled a lap out of the bag in qualifying but where he’s normally been stronger is controlling a nice race pace.
“I mean it’s not terrible, but he’s 46 seconds off the lead after 29 laps and now 11 seconds behind [Lewis] Hamilton in ninth.”
Aston Martin will agree with Brundle that they have work to do as they head to Saudi Arabia from Bahrain.
The car was ‘super snappy’ during practice even though in pre-season testing at the same track they were being compared to Red Bull.
Whether it has any bearing on Fernando Alonso’s future is yet to be seen with the 42-year-old out of contract at the end of 2024.
He’s admitted he’s going to assess his options after the first few Grand Prix and might already be looking at a slightly quicker Silver Arrow further up the grid.
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