The Mystery of Fernando Alonso's Decline

What's going on with Fernando Alonso's recent slump since Aston Martin's mid-season upgrades?
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In this video, we unravel the mysterious decline of Fernando Alonso's performance with Aston Martin. Once a consistent top finisher, Alonso now finds himself struggling at the back of the pack. What has gone wrong for this F1 legend? We explore potential internal issues within Aston Martin, including the impact of Lance Stroll's presence and possible favoritism, and examine the team's technical and strategic missteps that may be contributing to Alonso's woes. Alonso's frustration is evident as he faces one of the toughest seasons of his career, prompting questions about his future in F1. With a single point-scoring race in the chaotic Canadian Grand Prix, Alonso's recent results starkly contrast with his earlier consistent top-five finishes. We also discuss the broader implications of Aston Martin's struggles, from their pursuit of high-profile personnel like Adrian Newey to internal leadership changes. Could these efforts turn their fortunes around, or is more needed to support Alonso and bring the team back to the top? Join us as we uncover the challenges Alonso and Aston Martin face, speculate on the potential changes on the horizon, and analyze what it all means for the future of this iconic driver.
#f1 #astonmartin #astonmartinf1team #fernandoalonso #lancestroll #stroll #alonso #formula1 #formulaone #formula12024 #f1news #f1latest #f1updates #astonmartinf1
The Mystery of Fernando Alonso's Decline
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Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, "fair use" is allowed for things like criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is when a copyright law lets you use something in a way that would otherwise be against the law. In some scenes, race footage from the Formula 1 calendar is used whose rights belong to FOM. Other photos and news items are only used to help the original content.

[@LawVS]

Climb the ladder with me on Patreon: patreon.com/lawvs My socials: linktr.ee/lawvs

[@francistaylor1822]

100% agree with your take. Stroll doesnt belong in F1 and they are actively doing everything they can to make him look good, including screwing teammates and team performance. For anyone else, Stroll would have got into F1 with his talent and if even if he had got in on merit, would have been out of the sport within a year or so

[@_Sp3ctra]

I genuinely believe that Seb and Alonso were sabotaged

[@RockSolitude]

Yeah I'm starting to see that too. I genuinely thought Vettel had just lost it and while I never believed for a second that the same happened to Alonso (it's just Aston that is bad, not Alonso), a pretty clear pattern is starting to emerge.

[@jacliffh9221]

You don’t need to believe, it’s right there. just look at the AM strategy calls for the two drivers in Singapore, Brazil and Abu Dhabi 2022. This is not how a team should treat their retiring 1st driver.

[@mayoneasyy]

...and lance still looks bad compared to them

[@cam3002]

Have to agree, both Seb and Alonso were doing great, then there is talk about how bad Lance is and all of a sudden Alonso is struggling. Hence Lance does not look quite so pathetic. Makes one wonder if "Daddy" is pulling strings?

[@Dishanta_Goswami]

This isn't as crazy when you realise that the Strolls did the same thing in F3. George even called them out

[@j.wdeveaux708]

Alonso deserves better than the Stroll's.

[@flintey360]

He's washed

[@dranzerbankai7660]

​@@flintey360How this guy had 6 podiums in first 6 races last year

[@flintey360]

@dranzerbankai7660 Don't care he's washed since yk Lewis is apparently washed too right?

[@Don-Royall]

​​@@dranzerbankai7660Because he was the second fastest car in the first 6 races

[@Eis_]

He's so washed that he gets overtaken by two Alpines in a straight. :) /s

[@_Sp3ctra]

Image if Alonso and Seb were together in 2023.

[@joshuafleckenstein351]

AM would’ve finished P2 in the WCC

[@davidvasquez08]

@@joshuafleckenstein351idk, 2012 would’ve gone into high gear

[@paperplane-db8qf]

Aston Martin would have a pole and win if Vettel was still driving for them.

[@Jejking]

@@paperplane-db8qf Lol, Vettel did better than Stroll but the margin between Alonso and Stroll was MUCH larger. He wouldn't have picked up the win.

[@paperplane-db8qf]

@@Jejking Alonso is getting whooped by Stroll lmao. Stroll was only close to Vettel after Vettel announced he was retiring. Alonso’s going to look like a number 2 driver in his last season 🤣

[@Ducky39101]

My personal conspiracy theory is that Aston Martin make a fast car at the beginning of the year making it fast but not easy to drive. Alonso does well and Stroll struggles. Aston then bring upgrades that make the car easier to drive but not doing much for the performance ceiling. Stroll gets on par with Alonso but Alonso gets depressed as everyone else starts overtaking them.

[@typicaltestr1801]

that makes no sense

[@RockSolitude]

@@typicaltestr1801 it's Stroll. Keeping him on the team and trying to turn him into a WDC driver makes no sense but here we are.

[@prithviraj.r5734]

Easier to drive?😶 The car has gotten only worse, more difficult to drive and no balance mid corner, which is what is the struggle with the car and Lance always gives feedback on how the car is nervous and it's scary

[@paperplane-db8qf]

If it’s so much easier to drive then why is Alonso making so many mistakes?

[@TaylorVac]

That's not a conspiracy. It is your opinion. CONSPIRACY the most misused word ever. What is wrong with people? As soon as you open your mouth you get thrown conspiracy at you.

[@vrishanksingh-ii5nk]

It's incredibly suspicious how last year before re-signing he was scoring podiums and very comfortably outscoring Lance with a huge delta. As soon as he re-signs, Lance is suddenly so close to alonso?! A team like Mercedes can't harm one car as points are important but a team like Aston has nothing to lose. They seem to be trying to make Lance look deserving of an f1 seat. They might be selling in the next couple of years and want to make Lance look like an interesting talent for future lineups.

[@pookachu64]

Re-sign ?

[@ediltonspencer6974]

What are you suggesting?

[@KJTD]

​@@ediltonspencer6974 he suggests that they are sabotaging Fernandos car, similar to what they did during Strolls previous racing partners

[@askeladden450]

​​@@KJTDwhich is a pretty stupid suggestion ofc. Anyone who has watched Fernandos career knows how he would have acted if he was being sabotaged. He has just lost motivation because Aston is looking to be a failed project, which is why he is performing badly, especially after tge failed upgrades. Did Aston sabotage him crashing into Zhou last race too? That was so un-fernando like. He has just lost motivation, its that simple.

[@hagamapama]

People in denial and inventing excuses that a 43 year old driver is totally not showing his age. this is not one of the more attractive aspects of fandom. there's no need for conspiracy theories. It's just over. it's time for Alonso to retire. There's no shame in that, it is what it is. Father time is undefeated.

[@arg_9584]

Fernando is in hibernation until 2026, or Aston somehow fix the car between now and next season.

[@HalfPrice7]

Stroll dominance may bore fans

[@BSA_Airgunning]

He bores fans anyway

[@crunks420]

Not too worried about that happening.

[@RedHaloManiac95]

Dominance and stroll don’t go together 😂

[@meep4563]

please remind me what is he dominating in? 😊

[@felineprime4228]

because they know its manufactured. He's not only rich enough to have daddy buy him a seat AND F1 team but now he's actually PAID for dominance over Fernando.

[@thomasnieswandt8805]

To all who in the comments who say "Alonso has lost it" ...well no he hasnt.... You can see it in this year alone. Alonso was way better, but suddenly after China and 99% of the whole motorsport world demanding to fire Lance, Alonso had not a single positive race...its strange ... To quote Bernie (from the Brawn documentory) "Who told you the cars are equal?"

[@craiglawrence9515]

Mercedes sabotaging Louis I wouldn't bet on. The strolls sabotaging Alonso...I'm all in!

[@addicted2247]

Isn’t that convenient

[@craiglawrence9515]

@@addicted2247 how so?

[@addicted2247]

@@craiglawrence9515 lol I just meant everyone agrees that something weird is going on at AM but not then most refuse to entertain the same thought at Merc

[@craiglawrence9515]

@@addicted2247 I'm a huge fan of Louise's. Watched him come up in f2 to f1. I don't support teams I support drivers. There's obviously more support for george now within the team, it's no surprise. I bet Louis ain't getting no where the attention he use to but when it comes to poper stroll I really do think he would happily throw Alonso under the bus for his week son, just to make him look better. Either way good to hear your opinion budy.

[@addicted2247]

@@craiglawrence9515 Yh exactly I agree with you

[@hmarloestudio]

as a spaniard my self, I would like to say... GP2 aero!!! ahhhhhrgg

[@louneissen1603]

Daddy goes a long way to make his son "special".

[@DrAmithBhat]

But he already is "special". Ask RPM.

[@tfofficial4098]

Stroll is quite fast actually, so fast they call him the "Sped"-o-meter

[@tfofficial4098]

He would also be great actor at "Veggie"tales

[@paperplane-db8qf]

Or Strolls just better than Alonso. If they were sabotaging him then why did Alonso resign with AM?

[@dariussatius1621]

I've been eondering about this. Exactly after he announced he signed with Aston M and after they announced Stroll's extension, its like Nando started to let himself go, before he was always outdriving that car

[@vikhanh3836]

I also feel like that, but people just say that he’s getting worse. I even think about the case where MAYBE Aston sabotaged his car or something, or paid him to do it. Just my opinion. As an Alonso fan since 2016, this case is kinda weird.

[@dariussatius1621]

@@vikhanh3836 Aston sabotaging ar paying him to look worse is only plausible if Papa Stroll is desperate to show Lance is good. But it honestly would be stupid to do this, they would willingly lose points. But it is strange

[@vikhanh3836]

@@dariussatius1621 Papa Stroll has already bought his son's way through F2, so it seems like he'll do anything for his lovely son haha. But yeah, you’re right, it does sound stupid.

[@dariussatius1621]

@@vikhanh3836 you're right about the Sr...well now I'm not sure what's what 🤣🤦🤣

[@vikhanh3836]

@@dariussatius1621 Never underestimate the love of a man for his son 🤣🤣

[@elleonken7599]

I've been saying this for a while, and it may sound crazy, but since Stroll rising to Alonso's level is as likely as Sargeant winning a race, then the obvious plan B is to bring Alonso down to Stroll's level.

[@detoowang]

Imma call Aston Martin “Strulovitch’s Birthday Present” from now on

[@Jona-cn3le]

What about team Pretty Pony?

[@SGGJMDSC]

I really hope Alonso doesn’t call F1 quits too early, but if he does, he should try to get in the Valkyrie

[@RedHaloManiac95]

Fernando is washed

[@SGGJMDSC]

@@RedHaloManiac95 fastest lap says what? Loser

[@fluvv9642]

​@@SGGJMDSCThat move so typical Alonso, i mean you're P18 and decided "f it i'm gonna take the fastest lap on this race"

[@freedom_born]

​@@RedHaloManiac95 Aston is washed. Don't get it twisted buddy

[@RockSolitude]

Every time Aston Martin "upgrades" their car they get worse, Alonso starts doing worse but Stroll starts doing better. There is a clear pattern that is emerging with Aston Martin. Alonso is painfully learning the golden rule that Vettel learned: you cannot and will not outshine daddy's boy at Aston Martin, and you _will_ be sacrificed on the altar of Papa Stroll's vain attempt at turning Lance into a WDC driver. The upgrades are solely focused on making Stroll faster (and look better) and that is why the team always seem to be going backwards with each update regardless of how much technical talent, money and state of the art facilities they have. Stroll does most of the work in the simulator, he tests the upgrades first, his feedback is prioritized, he often receives upgrades first and Lance Stroll is the development direction of both car and team. They don't develop for performance, they develop for Lance Stroll. All of this is to say is this: instead of raising the performance ceiling of their car so a top driver with a really high performance ceiling like Fernando Alonso can extract even more performance out of the car and go even faster, they're effectively lowering it to Lance's level and _his_ performance ceiling, so he can extract the most out of the car and look better relative to his teammate. Because when the car's performance ceiling is much higher, Lance can't really do anything with that and get the most out of the car, and as a result gets left in the dust by Alonso. And when that happens he looks bad, Daddy Stroll looks bad, questions come regarding his legitimacy and place in F1, Daddy Stroll and Nepobaby Stroll come under pressure and the team look like clowns for keeping him, and they can't have that.

[@pisderata]

THIS

[@paperplane-db8qf]

lol, no. When Vettel was at AM they became more competitive. AM doesn’t have a good driver anymore, which is why none of their upgrades are working because Alonso can’t tell the difference between oversteer and understeer. This happens to every team he’s a number 1 driver. They become less competitive the longer he’s in it/

[@trololo_zhirnota]

People talk about how Merc is sabotaging Lewis, or RedBull is sabotaging Perez. But the thought that Aston Martin could be sabotaging Alonso, to make Lance look good is much more plausible. Considering how much "cheating" there was in Lances early years, it would not shock me if we later find out that there was something "funny" going on with Alonsos car this year, because Daddy Strulovich would not be happy that his son got so dominated last year.

[@facetiousbadger]

Yeah it's obvious Red Bull and Mercedes are in F1 to win, but Mike Krack has openly stated Aston Martin is in F1 for Lance. So why wouldn't AM sabotage the other driver if it makes Lance look even mildly competent? It's pathetic.

[@paperplane-db8qf]

The only time a teammate was sabotaged was Trulli in 2004 for beating Alonso. Briatore did his best to prioritize his golden boy and ended up firing the better driver.

[@magacacciari3565]

Another episode of Keeping Up with the Strollovichs

[@lottalove8419]

Yes. Finally calling them by their real name. 😂

[@Spike-sk7ql]

I honestly wonder why they feel the need to change their names. Its almost like....... nah.... couldnt be. Also, im pretty sure it was Strullovitch.

[@magacacciari3565]

@@Spike-sk7ql you’re right: it’s Strulovitch

[@WB-kx7jw]

The Strolls have to be the most hated people in F1

[@obewonknobee]

I remember a few weeks back that one of Aston martins head of development said that lance stroll is the spearhead in their development, so the decline makes sense because lance can’t drive, let alone how to develop a f1 car.

[@parkerj1232]

It's bad when his highlight of the year is stealing fastest lap in 17th at Austria. I'm still sour about it

[@mikii2001]

After deep dive into Lance’s F3 career by RPM, I’m strongly convinced he gets all the support to match Alonso and thus justify Lance’s place. Thing is everybody sees it.

[@henriettechristensen2135]

I hate the thought that alonso is being sacrified to make a mediocore Stroll look better... But it makes sense, unfortunately 😔

[@hagamapama]

It makes no sense at all. It makes some superficial sense if you forget who Alonso is, but if you think for one moment that this guy, THIS guy, as in Yapping Nando the Soundbite Factory, is gonna keep his mouth shut and let his career b e dragged in the mud fort the sake of Lance Stroll? You seriously think Alonso would stand for that for 1 single solitary second? You really gonna sit there and tell me that Alonso would keep quiet about that if there's nothing wrong with him and it's the car merely making him LOOK washed? you think Alonso is that kind of cat? Because I don't.

[@spark6669]

I seriously hope you’re wrong, because Alonso doesn’t deserve to be bottlenecked in favour of an inferior driver who can’t cut it. Bad sadly Lawrence is always gonna put his son first, so I may have to agree with you here

[@czechvirusS]

​@@hagamapamawe've already seen alonso keeping his mouth shut . he knows who pays him. he knows its his last chance to stay in f1. of course he's keeping silent. did you see how he acted before resigning? that was extremely telling. mercedes/redbull/mercedes. suddenly silence and signs. didn't say much about his 3 stop strategy in imola. neither about having to make a space for lance to pit in. which made him unable to get p10 when lance f*d it up

[@hagamapama]

@@spark6669 Lawrence Stroll is not dumb enough to make his son the #1 driver. Not even on his worst day. If he was gonna try that he'd have brought in someone like Mick Schumacher to be the #2 driver in 2023 and let Lance's escapades with that early 2023 car make him look like a golden god.

[@indcredible7839]

​@@hagamapama lol he literally blatantly did it in F2 and F3.

[@juanignacioordoqui7539]

I'm a Alonso fan and I'm 100% sure that he is throwing away qualys and races to not make Stroll look bad. If the same results of 2023 and of the first 2024 races continued, Lawrence would have been forced to make Lance retire of F1.

[@45auto]

There is nothing Aston Martin can do to make Lance Stroll appear to be anywhere near the quality driver that is Alonso. I hope they eventually try to be the best team, not a team designed to make Lance look best.

[@felineprime4228]

I don't mean to give Lance NO credit for improving his skills but this scheme to make Lance seem better than he is must stop. Aside from one of the best drivers in the world and one of the richest men in North America imagine how many other serious people must be associated with this narrative; ALSO, how much Shrink-ology must it take to keep Lance himself on script? Is Lawrence driving this for himself or his son? Do they expect fans to believe in it? like, Lance just eclipsed one of the top ten F1 Goats just out of the blue? Im wondering what Fernandos psychology is right now. Id have thought he didn't need any more money

[@paperplane-db8qf]

Alonso fanboys with more excuses. He was getting beaten by Trulli but then Trulli was sabotaged and ultimately fired. Just karma/

[@TheWayOfVRIL]

It's all RocketPoweredMohawk's fault. NOTHING SERIOUS.

[@Dishanta_Goswami]

Nuthin seryous

[@baoquoc3710]

THE NEERRVVEE

[@LuminalSpoon]

BUT THEN

[@tradefortutara9608]

DISGUSTING!🤭

[@hueyfreeman7810]

the simple truth: to make Stroll look good.

[@stevemw20]

daddy stroll seems to pay the team mates to slow down and make lance look good ! did it in F3 now in F1

[@abel6846]

Biggest question for me still remains if Lance wants to be there. He just seems so disconnected and bored.

[@aslonz5308]

I would too if people clearly saw through the smoke and mirrors people are using to make him look one eight competent.

[@petabaigent]

I really thought that he was going to quit this year, and Alonso was just playing along until he left. If Lance was like, yeah it's my dream job, I love it, eff all you haters who are jealous, I could understand it, but he just seems so bored by it all

[@Billy_McLovin_Hope]

I personally hypothesized this theory after Imola. I believe that Vettel didn't want to be a submissive to both Sir Lance-sucks-a-lot and Papa Stroll. Alonso on the other hand, he probably thought "why not" after the 2023 performance. But now he is witnessing the downside of such. I'm sorry for SigmAlonso. 😢

[@dpjohnjones432]

I would literally start watching Indya Car if Alonso went that route.

[@thomasp3101]

I don't get why you wouldn't in the first place. It's the next best series. This week they're debuting the hybrid system.

[@Foxxnioxx]

​@@thomasp3101hybrid 🤮

[@Dishanta_Goswami]

​@@FoxxnioxxThe future is now old man

[@thomasp3101]

@@Foxxnioxx lol you do realize F1 is hybrid right? Lol I don't think you know what youre are talking about.

[@thomasp3101]

@@Dishanta_Goswami I don't think he knows what he's talking about

[@Reznor_Meeks]

Dan Fallows is to blame here. He has not been able to develop the car, when he arrived he had brought with him Adrian's ideas, when it was up to Dan to take the development forward, the engineering team he leads just couldn't. They can't blame the Mercedes engine or rear end anymore, or the change of tyre structure. Absolute shame because Alonso is still at his peak, he has never dropped speed or racecraft.

[@adiba9734]

Being fernando fans since i was 5 watching him winning the singapore grand prix and start watching again when he was in mclaren era was hard

[@user-ui3cs9dp5k]

fernandos temper is massively overblown. hes just villainously handsome and has a bad guy from the movies accent

[@Ryzard]

Frfr

[@a030055]

I can feel we are approaching the burning the bridge phase of Alonso team saga

[@nandhu0000]

I think they are developing the car from stroll inputs Not alonso's

[@Secret_7.26]

Which is stupid

[@thomasp3101]

If they are, every sponsor should pull out immediately. I would be so pissed if I was a sponsor, like we wre giving you millions of dollars and this is what we're getting??Your weak ass son?!

[@prithviraj.r5734]

@@Secret_7.26why exactly? Worked with the car in 2020 and like every Vettel fan says, Alonso ain't good at development cuz he'll just outdrive every bad characteristic of the car

[@Ryzard]

​@@prithviraj.r5734I have to say, being bad at development because he's too good to be affected is the most hilarious compliment/insult combo

[@sonidojamon]

"-Hey, Alonso. What about this: We renew your contract, we bring Honda in, we sign Cowell and/or whoever top-tier tech we can for 2026, we pay you A LOT OF MONEY, and you just have to keep a low profile until then and try to make your team-mate look 'better' (less bad, that is) in the meantime. You in? -Yeah, I can do that. But you need to help me out preparing a long list of excuses for every Grand Prix to be covered. And please keep that dumb fxck as far as possible, if you don't mind."

[@kinkykoala1086]

Building a car that even Lance Stroll can win the WDC with might be the ultimate challenge for Newey!

[@kyro818]

Not contributing to the discussion but I just wanted to say... I just love getting home, opening youtube and hearing the steps on the ladder! Keep up the good work c:

[@Elegenius2012]

There is no mistery, after the upgrades in Imola Alonso runned off the track and crashed everytime he attempted to extract the maximum out of the car as he always does, now the car is so unpredictable in and out of the corners that Alonso pretty much has seemed to take a much more conservative approach to building up a weekend, and even then he still gets a lot of near misses, I doubt even Verstappen or anyone would risk to drive that car any faster.

[@nocrega]

Exactly. If they brought last year's car they would probably get better performances just for it being actually driveable

[@felipaosayonara8323]

No big mystery there. Alonso is a born champion and one of the best f1 drivers of all time. Heck, possibly the best allround driver the world has ever seen. He expects to win - and I never got the "toxic Alonso" BS, because it is BS. He has high standards, both from his team and himself. At the same time, he leads the way, motivating those around him to move forward. What's happened is that the worse the car gets, the more disappointed he becomes, as they move farther and farther from his expectations. It's basically a reality check and has demotivated him to the point of not really caring about 13th place anymore. I can't fault him - for all his flaws, as have we all, Alonso is the hungriest and driver I've ever seen and he's got the chops to go along with that. As soon as the car shows progress instead of regress, he'll bring out his magic again.

[@jjmulvihill]

I never thought anyone could make stroll. Interesting. Great video!😊

[@dcrasta]

Or maybe Alonzo is declining from age . Isn’t he the oldest old guy on the grid ? Don’t they have him for 2 more years ? Let’s pop some popcorn and watch .

[@djblc2201]

Great video. Did I just notice the sound FX ? They’re perfect especially the ladder !

[@AmsterdamHeavy]

Unmotivated Alonso is a terrible thing.

[@felineprime4228]

Agreed but we don't know if motivation as why he's behind. the window between 3 or 4 places can be 100/th. He's been taken into that family and for some reason agreed to play 2nd to Lance. As far as the other guys beating him, if a "lance is quicker" narrative has been laid out FA is game for it.

[@y_fam_goeglyd]

The big re-signing with the "lifetime ambassadorship" happened a matter of days after Lewis did it with Ferrari. My initial reaction (and I still think it) was that he wanted to show Lewis that his current team _love him_ and he didn't have to go anywhere else to get the sort of contract that Lewis had to leave Mercedes for. And before long Alonso gave the impression that he was regretting it. He hasn't seemed happy ever since. Of course it could be that AM wanted to keep hold of him whilst knowing that the car wasn't going to get better...? 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@RockSolitude]

I mean Alonso put his hat in the ring for a Red Bull or Mercedes drive and then completely changed tune, even though it was becoming pretty clear Aston Martin weren't going anywhere. Alonso thought that himself, then he's suddenly all like "actually Aston Martin is faster" even though they had already begun declining again. It's like he was held hostage by the team and they put a gun to his head to force him to sign.

[@espvp]

What the… this is not a cartoon

[@Ryzard]

​​@@RockSolitudehe knew damn well red bull was gonna keep their drivers, and at Mercades he would be given a shitty one year deal and a worse car. As it has been for a decade, he's trapped at the rear end of the grid.

[@jakepearce7776]

9:12 - idk why the slight echo from that is so satisfying but it is lmfao. Also this just might be conspiracy brain going on here but considering how Vettel left and the way this situation is going, I honestly would not be surprised if there were some kind of sabotage going on in both cases. Is that maybe a smidge mean-spirited towards the team and Stroll? Sure, but I can't shake this feeling of something untoward happening behind the scenes.

[@DanielDorn-tr7tw]

We need to further test this, put Hamilton to Aston Martin after Alonso retires

[@davidvasquez08]

Vettel was already going on a downhill, that was obvious as Max Verstappen P1 last year

[@MacApple21]

I think it’s just a lack of motivation (if anything) while the AMR24 is uncompetitive. As soon as the car is any good he’ll be back to his best.

[@marco_1909]

I think he has mentally checked out of F1. Seeing that no top team would want him must hurt. Someone as loud as Fernando if he found out he is being sabotaged, i don't think so. (Could be because he doesn't want to lose the ambassador thing). I think its a long leap

[@RockSolitude]

Imagine thinking that it's a long leap to think that the Strolls would sacrifice another WDC winner and highly experienced veteran driver to make Nepobaby who cheated his way through F3 look better.

[@paperplane-db8qf]

@@RockSolitudefirstly the board of directors would axe Stroll if he actually sabotaged his team. And no engineer would join Aston Martin and have their reputations ruined for purposely building a bad car. It makes them unemployable, and their careers are more important than Strolls supposed feelings.

[@Ryzard]

I don't think it's making a purposefully bad car, I think that they are just (as it was said, stroll is the development spearhead) making the car more stable and easy for him to drive. The cost there, being that while stroll can be more consistent, the car is slower. Alonso pushes the car past what it can do, since he's used to some instability, desperately looking for time.

[@user-co6wc8di5l]

Honestly it does feel like something is up. Even if the car sucks there's no way Alonso should be this much worse than Lance. Not sure why it's happening, but something stinks.

[@zbot2123]

Yeah. It feels like Alonso has been under team orders lately to not out-qualify Stroll lately. His performance doesn't really make sense lately.

[@il-ma.le.]

Am the first who thinks that the Team can make or break a Driver. But apparently Lance has no right to get credit other than negative.

[@lazymaharani9734]

Where Fernando goes, I will go. I only even got into F1 because of him. He's just such a gem of a driver - so versatile and adaptable. As cool Aston Martin may be, I only support their F1 team because of him (pretty sure most AM fans are only there for Fernando anyway). Lance is such a huge liability but papa stroll will never admit that. He's had enough time to prove himself and he's just so inconsistent. He may be an ok driver but not up to par with the rest of the grid. That incident with Riccardo in china left me bitter. I'm pretty sure Logan could make far more progress in that team than stroll lmaooo. Dear God, please bless Alonso his 3rd world championship - pretty please)

[@jaysherriff3086]

Logans one of the worst drivers on the grid.... there's better drivers in f2. 😂

[@S2KEVIN]

same. Once the only driver of my generation leaves, I'll stop watching.

[@Henricus-21]

JH is certainly holding that grudge against Alonso. He just had to blast JH on live Tele lol. I love you Nando.

[@QuimFreecss]

Yep, it's quite funny to see his antics done as a vendetta, and quite sad the FIA has publicly hired a steward that has a personal vendetta against a driver. But hey it's the FIA, incompetency and a bit of bias is expected, mainly incompetency.

[@Uzair_Of_Babylon465]

Great video keep it up you're doing amazing things 😁👍

[@martinavery3979]

Lots of guys who manage to drive a slow car quickly fail to drive a fast car quickly. AM's faster efforts are beyond Lance's driving skills & making it easier to drive for him makes it slower. Remember, Alonso has said they rely on Lance's input

[@ninjaa003]

7:37 it's funny, because Johnny Herbert came out and said that the 10 second penalty, and 2 penalty points was the "maximum sanction we could have taken" against Max, and that "if someone had flipped or been barrel rolling down the track" he doesn't think it would have changed things. He also said, "it's all about consistency", and if there's contact it's 10 seconds. Definitely don't bother looking at the other rules that Max broke though. Definitely couldn't have given him multiple penalties.

[@QuimFreecss]

Yeah, also the Herbert rules say that you have to add at least +10 seconds penalty if there's an investigation on Alonso. It's consistent! He had a happy day on the job.

[@Ryzard]

What stood out to me there is that we just came from Alonso's tussle with Russell leading to a crash where there was no contact, and the stewards claimed "result doesn't matter, only the actual incident" - But now it would be different if he was barrel rolling down the track? Interesting. Almost like those are mutually exclusive statements...

[@ExodiaNecross2]

Aston martin had there jordan moments. 1999 / 2023 having great start too year with podiums then having dips towards end off season. Then into 2000 / 2024 they thought they had the car too challenge for titles but are under performing & going backwards too much hype.

[@DrAmithBhat]

The issue I wanted to mention right after Fernando's contract renewal seemed extremely unusual and he didn't seem optimistic about it either. Genuinely seems, atleast on paper, they want to show that Lance went head to head with a 4 time world champion and a 2 time world champion in equal machinery.

[@LawVS]

No doubt. It's all a case of paper results.

[@harrisongray9172]

As much as a love alonso and have watched him since his Renault days it might be nearing the end ? Last year had so much potential for the team. But something is very wrong, I have no doubt fernando is a better driver than stroll. But we know stroll isn’t going anywhere. Unless Aston can start pulling some performance back I can’t see fernando being here come 26. Maybe even 25 at this rate

[@WindwolfBlog]

Foam of Doubt needs a glass of water after this one.

[@aslonz5308]

I used to laugh at people saying redbull is paying the FIA but now i am starting to belive them after that nonsense with max and verstappen in austria.

[@SniperMayer]

The fact that they resigned Sir Lancelot again clearly shows how they are not even serious about competing in this sport.

[@glockmat]

Papa stroll swapped the transponders and helmets of the 2. Alonso is racing under Stroll's name and vice-versa

[@pietervanbreda4360]

There is definitely something strange going on there.

[@The_ZeroLine]

He hasn’t declined. He just doesn’t show up anymore when the car can’t score points. It’s why he out qualified a car that was on pole in Canada and is still at triple the points of Stroll and was on target for points in Austria until the minor contact with last place Zhou.

[@swidr5626]

5 year plans are such a stupid concept and an idea. It's like those teams think their opponents will wait for them and not have any answer for it. And for sure there is never a situation where something happens that can completely change the pecking order

[@swidr5626]

And it's creating so much pressure towards the team too, because if they won't meet their expectations a lot of questions will be asked. If there was no stupid 5 year plan talk in Aston everyone would be a lot lenient on them at the moment

[@N_1812]

The funniest thing in modern F1 is Alonso’s infallible status with fans. When he’s doing well, he’s the greatest driver of all time. When he’s getting outqualified by stroll, he’s totally invisible and goes uncriticized. Few drivers share this.

[@erdngtn9942]

Sometime after the 15 minute mark, you start using a picture taking noise to change your slides and it sounds like my phone taking screenshots. It’s driving me crazy.

[@MahF1V10]

Let me place my tin foil hat now. Based on previous history with the Stroll family. Fernando is under a strict NDA. He like Lance's previous team mates followed orders. He is solely thier to make Lance look good. Papa Stroll will soon learn not even a Newey car will save Lance's carrier.

[@paperplane-db8qf]

NDA? You don’t think there’s anything in contract about not sabotaging Alonso lol, but there’s an NDA 😂 Alonso must be the only driver to have ever signed an NDA.

[@adrianavendramin]

How do you make so many videos man I can't keep up❤

[@simony2722]

😊You are spot on. It's a ploy to showcase the boss's son's nonexistent or even improving skills. This is the time for Newey to go there and showcase his genius in securing another championship for Nando and himself. This is also the time to allow one or two more teams into this ailing frsnchise.

[@YearZer0777]

Daddy Stroll to AMR: Make my son look good!

[@BruceKarrde]

19:00 The pressure on Lance Stroll is zero. What we're seeing here is the power of the ultra rich. Alonso is just a puppet to them - to make Lance look much better and more competent than he really is. Seeing Lance race is like seeing amateurs visit their weekly carting track. They wake up, have a teams meeting, and then they get in the cart to race. What is happening here is nothing different from giving your best friend a job at an exclusive consultancy firm, where he just needs to forward some emails and give some presentations.

[@RabidJohn]

Eddie Jordan has made a couple of suspiciously complementary remarks about Papa Stroll and Aston Martin in his podcasts lately. He's Adrian Newey's manager, who somehow made it so Newey can start work in F1 again in May 2025. Aston Martin is the team EJ started and Newey's worked with them before, so the idea of the 2026 AM Honda being a Newey-influenced design doesn't seem at all far-fetched to me, ATM.

[@pcericm]

I agree with your Alonso theory about his performance taking a dive to make shitball Stroll look better. It's too obvious. I really wish Aramco would buy this team out and fire all Stroll-related folk.

[@paperplane-db8qf]

No one forced him to crash in Imola, crash into Zhou, etc. Stop with the excuses

[@madjayax731]

RBR Checo-Max and Stroll-Alonso pairing are weird anomalies. Among drivers who moved to new teams around 2021-2022, Checo is the one being further behind their incumbent teammates. Similarly, Alonso is starts to lose ground over Stroll. OTOH, Sainz, Gasly, Zhou are cutting their gap over the incumbent drivers in their respective teams. Commonly, a new driver in a team has more potential than the incumbent one.

[@piuforte6286]

What about honda intefiering to make a place to tsunoda

[@HairyLoco]

Stroll's presence in F1 is an insult to the rookies that deserve a seat. Both of the Strolls are.

[@scottwisner5831]

For years, F1 has been a place where seats are bought. Plenty of drivers are in the grid because of the money in which they bring or the markets to which they are associated rather than their performance. Plenty of top talent is frozen out of seats because they don’t have either of these “assets”. So, even though Lance is an empty suit with inconsistent performance, at best, he still is in that seat for similar reasons in that his father bought his seat. Anyone else on that team is expendable, other than Lance.

[@tonitoymusic]

Good point!! Now, Mercedes vs Ferrari revenge masterplan (after Hamilton's exit), would be another cool video! Cheers!

[@Jalopezlag]

Mike Krack literally said they would develop the car for Stroll, wouldn't even surprise me if they have done that, it's daddy's cash after all 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@freedom_born]

Dude was putting Aston on the map... carrying on Seb's momentum. Lawrence decides to buff Lance's car and nerf Fernando's. I'd give up too. The team is going backwards. Fern was bringing the team back... for what?!!

[@paperplane-db8qf]

Nah Fernando bottled Aston Martin with his typical usual poor development feedback. Aston Martin were used to having good technical feedbacks from Vettel, but they foolishly decided to listen to Alonso. They should’ve done the opposite of whatever Alonso was saying.

[@freedom_born]

@@paperplane-db8qf Engineers: "Your laps are down, can you tell us the problem Fern?" Alonso: "The problem is I'm too good, and the car is not..." Engineers: 😐

[@pisderata]

I thought of this before of Alonso arrival, put world champions, sabotage them to make Stroll look good and wait to have a hyper dominant car to make tiny Stroll a champion

[@tomwaldron5643]

the difference between AM and other teams is simple. Others teams arent just there as the owners son play project. (of course no harm meant to any of the professionals working there, your work is appreciated!)

[@desshinnick9365]

Maybe AM need to hire Ricciardo. Apparently he's a legend at re-engineering cars to make them go faster and great at developing team mates to go faster. With the exclusion of the last few races where both have been made slower. He can potentially move Lance and the car up the grid.

[@johnmcf]

Fernando made a deal with the devil (Strulovitchs) to get back to the front last year and now he’s paying the price

[@flamingburritto]

I genuinely think something suspicious is going on behind the scenes at Aston. Stroll's entire career is a lie and a scam. Watch the vid RPM made on his career. Also, Aston Martin was the only f1 car that Seb never named. I think he announced his retirement simply because of how he was treated at Aston behind the scenes.

[@stephenkonstantinou6218]

7:37 i feel like its a bit of both, i don't remember the time penalty intervals but for both incidents the penalty seems a bit weird, i can see why you would do 20 seconds for the Australian gp incident even though 15 would have been more appropriate, but in Austria the aggressive weaves and using the runoff to keep the place makes 10 seconds seem like not enough of a penalty, 15 again feels a bit more appropriate,i don't know what problema might turn up from it but maybe having a rule that says if there's multiple instances of erratic or unsportsmanlike moves before hand you can add an extra penalty on top of the penalty dished out, even if on there own aren't penalty worthy but maybe worthy of a warning

[@ninjaa003]

The 10 second penalty for Verstappen was fine. The problem is that he should have received a warning for the 1st case of moving under braking, penalties for each subsequent incident of it, and also a penalty for going off track to overtake (because Lando was actually technically ahead at the apex on that one, and Max made no attempt to stay on the track, squeezed or not)

[@Jaysonjay]

I was thinking the same . Something is not right.

[@atam8944]

When the car needs to be driven on a knifes edge, Fernando performs, but I feel like aston has made the car " easier " to drive. With a risk that damages, the performance

[@IvanOdintsoff]

AM simply can't be taken seriously after Mike Buttcrack or whathever said the team was built around Stroll.

[@DailyisRaceCar]

Personally I don’t think they are sabotaging Alonso but tailoring it to Lance’s driving style (which probably isn’t the quickes)

[@thecompanioncube4211]

I have been saying this for a month now. While we were caught up in Lewis’ alleged sabotage, Alonso was actually being sabotaged off of a cliff

[@Lianpe98]

Given how close is the performance in this era I don't think they need that much time to get to the top, they "just" need to make the following upgrades work.

[@RNA0ROGER]

It seems that Aston Martin are in the same position as McClaren in 2023. Alonso is is pretty much at the limit of what a driver can be, the question is do they understand the car. If you understand the car and you have a top driver, you win a championship that is all it takes.

[@nardmclaren9288]

Daddy Stroll has previous adding parts to his boys car that his team mate wasn’t getting

[@thechannelimashamedof2361]

Maybe, just maybe, it isn't a coincidence that Lance's worst showing vs his teammate was also the year he broke his wrist? Not saying he's Fernando's equal (he's definitely not lol), but I do think him getting nearly shut out by Alonso was likely an outlier. And yes this also means I think that the people who declared Alonso to be way way way better than Seb based on their records vs Stroll are wrong.

[@thomasp3101]

I agree with most of the people in the comments. Alonzo definitely deserves better, but he chose to go to Aston Martin and he chose to renew his contract so I don't feel bad for him. He chose to stay there and this is what you get when you're dealing with nepotism issue. This is why nepotism is such a problem for F1 and really the business world in general.

[@viskyboi1275]

Well did he have a choice? Its AM or retire for him and he doesn't wanna retire