Fernando Alonso says the public perception of troubled times at Aston Martin is wrong.
That is despite the fact that the 42-year-old Spaniard's move from Alpine over the winter seemed a masterstroke as he initially looked like one of Max Verstappen's biggest rivals early in 2023.
But as the growing Silverstone-based team upgraded the car throughout the season, Aston Martin slipped behind Mercedes, Ferrari and even McLaren. And the latest upgrade unveiled in Austin might even be aptly described as a 'flop'.
Initially, the team thought they simply got the setup wrong because of the sprint format in Austin - but the problems got even bigger in Mexico.
"I don't think it's setup," Alonso says. "We have tried many now. It's not setup, it's more about the package and us, the drivers, not feeling confident."
Indeed, Alonso's season hit a real in Mexico, as he freely admits to feeling "on the knife's edge" in every single session throughout the weekend.
"It's been particularly difficult for me. I haven't done a good job because I lack confidence in the car. I'm not at my best level," said the two-time champion.
However, he hits back at the theory that Aston Martin's most recent upgrade is actually a step backwards rather than a step forwards.
"We had the Austin race to compare between the two packages and the results in favour of the new package were clearly favourable," said Alonso.
"But it seems that we are not very comfortable in the car. Here, we were slow in every session," he added in Mexico. "I haven't had any confidence in the car for a single moment."
Alonso also sounds pessimistic about Aston Martin being able to turn the season around at this point, but he insists that it doesn't mean 2023 was a failure.
"It was a good season for us. We did not believe it was possible to be ahead of Ferrari or Mercedes and I am still ahead of drivers for those teams in the championship. That is the positive part," he said.
"We have had a drop in performance in these last races, but we are trying to recover our level. We have to keep working. We are trying to do all the testing we can to give more information to the factory to end the bad streak that we are going through.
"It is difficult," Alonso continued, "but it is not the funeral that I see when I come to talk to the media. Sometimes you learn more from difficulties than from celebrations."
As for the last few races of 2023, however, Alonso answered "I think not" when asked if one more podium might be a possibility.
"Right now we are not here to fight for anything," he admitted. "It is a time to learn and collect information for the future. The season is finished for us."
