Alonso: 'We are in the points' after tyre-saving drive at the Dutch Grand Prix

Credit: Luca Martini / WHYOUT images

Fernando Alonso credited his Aston Martin team for "nailing all the decisions" at Zandvoort after converting a tricky Dutch Grand Prix into a points finish, insisting the result came down to a strategy that got every call right from the opening laps.

"Yeah, I'm very happy. Happy for the team, as I think they nailed all the decisions today," Alonso said. "You know, the strategy was the right one, the starting tyre was the right one." The Spaniard pointed to a key moment late in the race when two virtual safety car periods forced the team into a split-second call on whether to pit.

"At the end, a couple of virtual safety cars, so we, you know, we were debating if stopping or not. We decided not, so I think, you know, all the decisions they made, they were the correct ones today."

That call, Alonso explained, was the difference between finishing inside or outside the points at Zandvoort. "So, thanks to that mix, I think we are in the points. The car was, you know, performing well. Very low tyre deck today, so, you know, happy for the team."

He added that he hoped the result marked a turning point rather than a one-off. "Hopefully we keep this momentum into the next few races and big congratulations to everyone."

Asked whether the Dutch Grand Prix weekend represented a genuine step forward on both chassis and power unit, Alonso was unequivocal about the former. "Yeah, definitely on the chassis. I think we brought more new parts here and I think now in the race, you know, the car was very easy to drive, very easy on tyres. I think that's definitely a benefit there."

He went further, framing the upgrade as proof that Aston Martin's development direction is paying off. "So, everything that we are bringing from the chassis side is delivering performance on track."

The picture on the engine side was less clear-cut. "On the engine side, a bit more difficult as we don't have a clear compared to the previous spec," Alonso said, before conceding the raw numbers may already be trending the right way.

"Obviously, we are in the points, so maybe there is more power and we need to take it." He was careful, though, not to overstate the gains, flagging drivability as an area still needing work. "But still, especially on the drivability side, we need to improve and to get a little bit consistency that seems that we lost with this spec too."