Aston Martin concluded the season on a notable note as Fernando Alonso secured the seventh position in Qatar. This result, while not a grand achievement, held significant importance as it allowed the team to shed the burden of the previous four races without any points. It was an unbroken negative streak that had never been witnessed in the British racing team. The classification was satisfactory, the pace was consistent, and the strategy was executed flawlessly with Fernando's double stop to handle the hard tires effectively.

Aston Martin's Season Finale and Alonso's Stand in Qatar

Analysis of the Season Finale

Mike Krack, the team principal, analyzed the maneuver with AS, stating, "These are decisions that need to be made quickly. It surprised me that not more people took this approach, and it ended up benefiting us even more. Everyone realized with the second safety car that the tires needed to be warmed up significantly. We will have to analyze whether a 'stint' with the hard tires over 19 laps was the better option, but for warming up the tires (before the safety car periods), the medium tires were much better."The Luxembourgish engineer admitted that the high-speed circuit in Losail helped to mask the shortcomings of the AMR24. "There were factors that worked in our favor. It is a very fluid circuit, without bumps, and it was colder than we expected. This did not harm our competitiveness. We accepted it, and the result was welcome as we did not expect to be so competitive." Regarding the "deployment" problems reported by Fernando over the radio, he said, "We heard it. I think he was a bit frustrated as he couldn't attack more during the safety car periods. We need to analyze it. There is always a difference between maximum speed and acceleration. Probably the traction was not fantastic, and that is the first impression of the pilot. Additionally, the pilots may also think that the others are using the engine in a different way."

Configuration Changes in Qatar

Among the configuration changes, in Qatar, they used the underbody that had worked best for them in high-load and high-speed circuits, which was first introduced in Budapest. A week earlier in Las Vegas, they resorted to the version prior to Imola. "We brought a different floor compared to Las Vegas due to the characteristics of the track. This combination is there, but it is a compromise; you can't choose between bad and worse. We have to group it together, but achieving that is another matter," explains Krack. "Las Vegas is a circuit with a high-speed curve and many low-speed curves; Qatar is the opposite. The two floors are very different in character, and each one suits a particular type of circuit better. This was not done intentionally, but one works better than the other. We learned this during the season and need to maximize the options in each circuit."

Preparations for Abu Dhabi

In Abu Dhabi, there are planned test sessions during the free practice sessions to continue guiding the development of 2025. These tests will be completed on Tuesday with tire and young driver tests. Drugovich and Crawford will pilot the two single-seaters, with Alonso and Stroll not present. "There is more time, so we will test some things. I think we will use the aerodynamic sensors again, and this will continue during the tests. It is essential to understand some complex areas of the car in terms of airflow and structures. All the help we can accumulate will be an advantage," says Krack, aware that in 2025, with the arrival of Cardile and Newey, the technical department and its processes will need an overhaul. "We need to be on top of the development objectives. We know what we want. We will have to structure everything with the arrival of the new people, but for now, we have to make the most of the people we have."