Fernando Alonso believes that Aston Martin have made a “step forward” with their new car in comparison to its 2024 predecessor, with the Spaniard keen to see where the team stand when the season begins in Australia.
There were mixed fortunes for the squad during the three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain, which culminated in a busy final day after Alonso stepped in for unwell team mate Lance Stroll during the morning session.
While Stroll initially returned to action in the afternoon, the Canadian completed 34 laps before handing back over to Alonso due to still not feeling well, meaning that the two-time World Champion recorded a total of 82 laps throughout Friday.
Speaking before he got back behind the wheel later on, Alonso was asked to summarise his pre-season testing, to which the 43-year-old responded: “Short! It’s already very short with a normal programme because it’s only one and a half days before the World Championship – very unique [to] this sport in that regard.