Alonso Testing with the Criticized Aston Martin

It was obvious that the first day of work at Aston Martin following the announcement of Adrian Newey's signing would not bring a significant change compared to recent Grand Prix performances. However, there was a glimmer of hope among the fans, which seemed to spread as soon as the free practice session for the Azerbaijan GP began. Until reality hit.

The AMR24, the latest car in which the Stratford-upon-Avon genius has not had a hand, is anything but a decent racing car. Beyond the joke and the prophetic words at its presentation, where it was dubbed an "all-terrain" vehicle, its poor performance is a real nightmare for its drivers. Lance Stroll made this clear over the radio during the first practice: "This is anything but a car." The easy response would be that he seems anything but a Formula 1 driver, but he has a point.

One of this car's shortcomings is its notable difficulty in reaching high speeds. This is not due to the power unit since Lewis Hamilton with a Mercedes (which also powers Aston Martin) clocked the top speed of the day at over 325 km/h. Given that they share engines, the problem must lie within the car itself. The streets of Baku are perfect for measuring these kinds of issues: aerodynamic load is not as relevant, and although this year’s lap times are slower than last year's, the net performance difference of the green cars clearly shows that they have lost their way.

Nevertheless, from Silverstone's team and pending whatever Newey invents for 2026 and, to a lesser extent but still very relevantly, for 2025, they are introducing small updates. Not so much to achieve great things for the remainder of the 2024 season, which is already more than over for them, but to see if they can at least finish with some dignity. "We have gathered useful data in both free practice sessions that we will analyze with the engineers tonight. We tried several different things today," noted Alonso, though he did not hide that such days are entirely irrelevant even for him. "We come because FIA and FOM send us," he concluded.

Alonso was involved in one of Friday’s curious incidents, filled with off-track excursions in Baku's limited run-off areas and some accidents (such as Franco Colapinto's crash that forced mechanics to work hard to get his Williams ready after his hit in the first practice). The Asturian driver spent almost a lap and a half trying to dislodge a plastic bag that had ended up on his halo. While not overly dangerous by itself, it could have caused serious problems if it entered an air duct. A minor incident that is far from being the reason for his more than disappointing 12th position on the time sheets. So much so that his teammate Stroll recorded the 7th fastest time of the day.

The cliché in this case holds true: being fastest on Friday guarantees nothing and often more cards are hidden than shown. Thus, on a day where incidents were constant, the fastest was one of those involved in a touch against Baku's narrowest section. Charles Leclerc, recent winner in Monza and a regular against Azerbaijan's barriers, topped the time sheets and confirmed that Red Bull still has much to improve if they want to get back on track for victory. And not just because he outpaced Max Verstappen—who he did by far as the Dutchman set only the 6th fastest time—but because Friday's unexpected second fastest was Sergio Pérez. As per that 'Rajoyan' aphorism: for Pérez, when Red Bull is worse off, he does better.

This weekend all signs point towards bets leaning more towards Ferrari red than other contenders, provided McLaren remembers to leverage their technical superiority seen in recent races since Carlos Sainz also shone on a good Friday. With his 4th fastest time, he aims to be a strong contender for qualifying and perhaps also for the race.