Finally competitive
In the end, the updates introduced between Budapest and the Netherlands by Aston Martin and Honda led to a concrete result: the Silverstone team actually managed to score world championship points in a ‘normal’ race at Zandvoort, without all the chaos of retirements and penalties that had allowed Fernando Alonso to finish tenth in the Monaco GP.
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This time the Asturian crossed the finish line in ninth position thanks to an excellent strategy and the qualities of a rediscovered AMR26, which the two-time world champion himself described via radio as a “lovely car to drive“. Words that a couple of months ago would have been impossible even to imagine.
Two historic points
Above all, Alonso with this result has entered even more into F1 history: Aston Martin’s #14 has become the 14th oldest driver ever to score world championship points and the first driver in 52 years to score points in the World Championship after turning 45 years old.
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The last to achieve such a feat was Graham Hill, who was sixth with Lola in the 1974 Swedish GP at 45 years, three months and 25 days; Alonso today scored points at 45 years and 25 days. And now, with a car in hand that is finally able to compete on par with the rest of the midfield, Alonso will have the opportunity until the end of the season to further improve these already exceptional statistics.
