Fernando Alonso credited his driving ability after turning an unexpected one-stop strategy into a points finish for Aston Martin at the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix.
The Spaniard finished ninth at Zandvoort on Sunday after starting 18th, securing his second points result of the 2026 season following 10th place at Monaco in June.
Alonso’s recovery was particularly impressive because he completed 34 laps on a set of soft tyres before switching to hard tyres for the remaining 38 laps of the 72-lap race. While several rivals used at least a two-stop strategy, the Aston Martin driver waited patiently behind competitors who had yet to pit before taking advantage of the overcut in clean air.
“I’m a very good driver,” said Alonso, when asked how he made it work. “That was not the plan. I think the plan was two stops and to go more conventional.
“But we need to sometimes deviate a little bit from what is normal. When we are in traffic, we cannot use our potential.
“We are faster in the corners and the people in front of us, we are slower on the straights, and we’re stuck behind.
“So, as soon as we have free track in front of us, we try to use it, even if it’s not the optimal performance and the optimal strategy and it’s what we did today.”
Aston Martin upgrades deliver another step forward
Alonso’s result followed Aston Martin’s introduction of a radically different chassis at the previous round in Budapest and the arrival of an upgraded Honda engine in the Netherlands.
The updates have helped the British team move away from its previous position as Formula 1’s slowest outfit, a tag now held by newcomer Cadillac. However, Aston Martin’s Zandvoort weekend began with significant difficulties.
Alonso qualified last for the sprint race, while team-mate Lance Stroll started 19th. Alonso experienced driveability problems because his straight-line mode was not working, contributing to a lock-up at Turn 1.
The two Aston Martin drivers eventually finished the sprint in 17th and 18th. They then secured more respectable qualifying positions for Sunday’s race, starting 18th and 19th ahead of Haas and Cadillac.
Alonso expects Aston Martin to be uncompetitive at the low-downforce Italian Grand Prix in Monza, the next round of the season, but said the Dutch Grand Prix still marked “another step forward” for the Silverstone-based team.
“Especially on the chassis side,” he added. “We brought four or five components here.
“Also, the Budapest package was understood in the break and with all the data available after the race, we fine-tuned a little bit the set-up around that new spec, plus the new parts.
“I think, now, we are optimising the chassis side and we are able to extract the maximum.
“On the engine, it’s more difficult. I don’t think we can be black and white on if we have more power or not.
“From the driver’s side of things, you change circuit one month after the other race, so the drivability has been a difficult weekend.
“We’re struggling with the downshift again and we’re struggling with the engine braking corner to corner. So, it was a challenging weekend in that regard.”
