Alonso in the dark over Aston Martin pace

Ewan Gale
Friday 17 March 2023 19:40 - Updated: 23:33

Fernando Alonso has conceded he has 'no idea' where Aston Martin stands in F1's pecking order for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The Spaniard finished the day second under the lights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen, with the Silverstone-based outfit seemingly confirming its form from the Bahrain Grand Prix, where Alonso clinched a podium.

But wary of how the times can flip between Fridays and Saturdays in F1, Alonso warned: "We were P1 on Friday [in Bahrain] and then maybe P5, P6 in qualifying.

READ MORE: Verstappen in command as traffic bedlam sparks Saudi Arabian GP qualifying fears But allaying fears of a deeper issue, the two-time champion said: "It was just functioning things with the downshifts, we do that all the time."

"You never know until you get to qualifying.

"But we tested what we wanted to test in the car. There is still not an ideal balance so we still need to chase a bit tonight, but so far so good - another good start."

Alonso on the 'beauty of F1'

Ferrari was off the pace during the opening day in Jeddah, with Aston Martin's closest rivals for second-quickest Mercedes and Alpine.

Asked where he believes he sits in the rankings ahead of qualifying, two-time champion Alonso replied: "I have no idea.

"I just drive the car and in qualifying and see where I am.

"Obviously, there is a lot of free practice, a lot of days between races, a lot of data to analyse and a lot of predictions and estimations for [the media] to do - that is the beauty of F1.

"But for us drivers, it is difficult for us to read anything in free practice."

READ MORE: Saudi Arabia Grand Prix 2023: Date, start time, TV channel and live stream