Alonso’s run to sixth in Montreal was his best result since Suzuka in April
Fernando Alonso says that the Formula 1 Canadian GP became a “lonely race” for him after he lost his early battle to keep Lewis Hamilton behind.
From sixth on the grid Alonso got ahead of Daniel Ricciardo at the start, and he then held off former McLaren team mate Hamilton in wet early stages.
The Mercedes driver got past at the first stops, and thereafter Alonsi then ran sixth for the duration of the race, with Aston Martin team mate Lance Stroll backing him up in seventh place.
It was the Silverstone team’s best double finish of the season after a difficult recent run that included two finishes outside the points for the former World Champion.
“Definitely a little bit of a lonely race for us,” said Alonso. “Not much to do in front of us. They were a bit too fast, and not many threats behind.
“Yeah, a little bit of defending with Lewis, but definitely he was one of the fastest on track, so that was a matter of time that we would lose that decision.
“A difficult race to execute for everyone. The track was just two metres wide with the dry line, so you cannot put a tyre outside of that dry line. So all-in-all, I think we take the day, double points for the team, and we have to be happy.”
Alonso stressed that Aston Martin made the correct strategy choices.
“I think it the right calls,” he said. “I was a little bit concerned when we stopped at the first stop, because the track was dry and we did new inters because the forecast was predicting a little bit of rain, but that rain was not happening, and I was a little bit concerned that we made the wrong call.
“I think Charles [Leclerc] tried to go for the dries, but at the end of the day, we made it okay, and all the calls were okay.”
He added: “The race, I think for me, was one of the most difficult races for everyone, for the 20 drivers, not only for us.
“And I was amazed that nothing happened for many, many laps, no incident, nothing but because the conditions were extremely hard.”
Alonso believes that the Silverstone team is getting to grips with the AMR23, which proved better suited to Montreal than the previous venues in Imola and Monaco.
“Today, I think was the maximum,” he said. “I think we are understanding more and more about the car, and the packages that we introduced this year.
“Some of them they need a little bit of fine-tuning in terms of setup, in terms of maybe direction as well. I think the setup is obviously a crucial thing here in Montreal with all the kerb riding.”
An improving Mercedes team has made life harder for Aston Martin.
“They are better, for sure, they are close to podium positions in the last few events, also in Monaco they were very fast,” said Alonso.
“So yeah, they are making a step forward, but I think it’s down to us to really prove the car. We are a little bit slower sometimes than we were at the beginning of the year, and we understand now why, and we’re trying to be as competitive as possible, hopefully in a few races’ time.
“This is a very dynamic sport. You are constantly learning about the car and all the new packages that you introduce. You are also looking at other cars and other philosophies, and you are trying different things.
“And yeah, I think the last few months, they were very productive for us in terms of understanding the car. So I’m very comfortable.”
Regarding his upcoming home race in Spain he said: “On paper we were happier with Montreal than Barcelona. We think that this track was going to be better for us. Let’s see if we have a nice surprise.
“I know the team is working also very hard to bring some new things for Barcelona, hopefully. So yeah, it’s going to be a very interesting weekend.
“Let’s see if we can score points again with both cars, which is obviously the thing we’re looking for at the moment.”
Adam Cooper F1 