Fernando Alonso: Aston Martin's pace made Australian GP difficult

Despite the Silverstone-based team managing to secure a double-points finish at Albert Park, Alonso highlighted areas where he believes the team needs to improve.

During qualifying on Saturday, Alonso clinched P10, just behind his Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll. 

In a strategic move, Alonso and Haas' Nico Hulkenberg were the only drivers to opt for the hard tyre at the race's start. 

While this choice initially seemed promising for Alonso, allowing him to maintain a position among the top six during the race's latter stages, a close battle with George Russell led to a controversial incident at Turn 6.

The subsequent penalty imposed by the stewards, deemed as a consequence of Alonso's driving, resulted in a drop to P8 in the final race standings.

Beyond the penalty issue, Alonso highlighted Aston Martin's "difficult pace" throughout the weekend, indicating areas where the team needs improvement. 

"Yeah, it was obviously a very difficult weekend for us in terms of pace," said Alonso.

"The race, we were lucky with the [Virtual] Safety Car at the beginning with Lewis [Hamilton], and then the pit stops were great as well, so thanks to the strategy and a little bit of luck obviously we maximised the points.

"But we cannot forget that the pace was difficult the whole weekend."