The Bahrain GP third place finisher as soon as once more seemed to be the closest contender to the Crimson Bull crew, ending the day in second place behind Max Verstappen.

While he managed to separate the Crimson Bulls – with Sergio Perez ending third – teammate Lance Stroll completed in P7 and hoped to have the ability to match Alonso’s tempo.

When requested concerning the robust exhibiting from Aston Martin, the two-time F1 champion gave a constructive response, however cooled expectations by pointing to the decrease qualifying results of the earlier race.

“Bahrain we have been okay, like P1 on Friday, after which we have been P5, practically P6 in qualifying, so that you by no means know till we go to qualifying,” Alonso instructed media.

“We examined all that we wished to check within the automotive. I feel it is nonetheless not a great stability, so we nonetheless must chase a bit little bit of grip tonight, however, thus far, so good.”

When requested if Aston Martin had the second-fastest automotive behind Crimson Bull, Alonso reiterated that he thought it will be troublesome to learn into the Saudi Arabian GP observe type.

“I don’t know. I simply drive the automotive and in qualifying I will see the place I’m,” added Alonso.

“However clearly there are a number of free practices, a number of days between races, a number of information to analyse, and a number of predictions and estimations for you guys to do.

“That is the great thing about System One as nicely, however for us groups or drivers is troublesome to learn something on free practices.”