Make hay while the sun shines. The comments about not expecting to be the second-quickest team coming into the season have been repeated several times by Fernando Alonso. Looks like the Spaniard’s dream of the 33rd win is going to be put on hold as Mercedes showed a blistering pace at the Spanish GP. However, the Aston Martin Boss clings on to the last hope of making Alonso’s dream come true despite Russell’s boastful comments. What is this hope?

Despite Toto Wolff’s comments about the new Mercedes not being a silver bullet, the major upgrades brought seem to be doing the job quite well. Both Mercedes finished on the podium at the Spanish GP. George Russell was ecstatic about the result as he explained how he was surprised by the result. The Briton started P12 and finished the race P3, overtaking both the Aston Martin’s and Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari. Russell suggested that Mercedes was the best when compared with Aston Martin and Ferrari. 

George Russell concluded by suggesting that great strategy and perseverance put them on the podium. However, Aston Martin’s TP tends to disagree with Russell’s statement. Mike Krack explained how the qualifying was compromised by Alonso damaging his floor and a clear picture cannot be formed yet. The Aston Martin Boss stuck to the last ray of hope to make Alonso’s dream come true by suffering that Mercedes could’ve probably unlocked a lot of performance with the new upgrades but, as per Krack’s data analysis, that doesn’t seem to be the case 

According to Motorsport-Total.com, Mike Krack said “I think it’s too early or too easy to say that because we [in qualifying] didn’t see the whole picture. It could well be that others have taken a bigger step. But our analysis so far does not speak for it.” 

Read More: “Should Go To Mercedes”: Ferrari’s Habitual Blunder Headlines Charles Leclerc’s Horrific Spanish GP as Fans Give Transfer Suggestions

Mike Krack also reassured the fans by advising that later on in the race, the team’s pace was consistent and they were well ahead of the competitors behind them. It was the first stint in which the performance was missing. Lance Stroll added to Mike’s tire degradation comments.

Lance Stroll advised Aston Martin to have higher degradation compared to competitors.

AMR23 was believed to be amongst the best car on their tires early on in the season. However, most of the tracks in the first 6 races were rear grip limited, whereas Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona is a front grip limited track. Lance Stroll explained how the AMR23 struggled on the first stint after the first 5 laps in which he was able to overtake Lewis Hamilton. He added that the team will look into the issue for the upcoming races. 

According to AstonMartinF1.com, Lance Stroll said, “Then, from about five laps in, we really struggled with the pace. My tire degradation was higher than expected but the cars around us didn’t seem to have the same issue, so it’s something we’ll look to understand for the coming races.”

Watch this Story: Is Lance Stroll Holding Back Aston Martin F1?

Do you think Aston Martin will be able to sort out the issues and regain their title of the second quickest car?