Alonso presents Aston Martin theory after FIA issues Austria penalty

Hit with a five-second time penalty at the Austrian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso theorised that an old gremlin had returned for Aston Martin.

Revealing that Aston Martin has suffered from an overheating, and therefore inaccurate sensor before, Alonso suggested that this triggered his pit-lane speeding offence in Austria. It was a penalty which proved inconsequential for Aston Martin, with Alonso focused on data gathering as he waits for the B-spec AMR26.

Aston Martin sensor theory behind Alonso penalty

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.

It is currently a case of taking the pain for Aston Martin, as the team waits for its heavily-revised AMR26 cars to arrive some time over the summer.

Alonso made the chequered flag in Austria as the last of the classified runners in P18.

Alonso’s five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane did not help his cause. After the race, he was asked by PlanetF1.com whether a software issue was to blame, or a simple slip of the finger on the pit-lane limiter.

“No, it was not a finger,” he confirmed.

Rather, Alonso’s theory is that Aston Martin ran into a renewed sensor glitch.

“They told me on the second stop to go around 75 kph on the pit lane manually,” Alonso revealed.

“It happened sometimes in practice as well, a couple of weekends ago. The front wheel sensor sometimes gets too hot and reads a different speed. So, I guess it’s that again.”

Alonso reflected on his Austrian GP as a chance to compile more data for Aston Martin, which will be of use when the new car arrives.

“We finished the last few races bar Barcelona, where we had the problem with the battery, unfortunately,” he said.

“We tried to collect data for the team, obviously all the energy management and running behind different cars at the beginning of the race, and then when we get lapped, obviously we have the chance for a couple of corners to know the weaknesses of our cars.

“It’s useful feedback. That’s probably the only thing we can do at the moment with the package we have and the pace we have, try to get things here and there to use that information for the future, and when the new car comes, hopefully be more prepared.”

The Aston Martins have qualified a second slower than Cadillac in back-to-back race weekends.

However, after Austria Q1, Alonso took to team radio, telling Aston Martin that it “was a good lap. Not what we want, but not too far. Not too far. We’re getting closer.”

More on Aston Martin and Alonso from PlanetF1.com

Do Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin comments stand up to scrutiny?

Alonso questions ‘money machine’ rival upgrades after Adrian Newey hits pause

Alonso was asked how he rates the team’s improvement after the Grand Prix.

“I think we still understand more and more things, as I said,” he responded, “even the extra energy that you get when you get within one second of the car in front.

“All those kinds of things, it’s not that we have that much information, because we didn’t finish many races and we were not competing with anyone.

“So every lap we do, we get a little bit more prepared for later in the season when the car is competitive.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next – Austrian GP: Russell wins, Lewis Hamilton ‘clear penalty’ Verstappen call ignored