Alonso completed the Spa race in fifth place, beating the Mercedes of George Russell and the surviving McLaren of Lando Norris.
The strong end result adopted big frustration on Saturday, when the Spaniard certified solely fifteenth within the shootout after team-mate Lance Stroll introduced out a pink flag, after which spun off early within the dash.
In the primary occasion he jumped up from ninth to sixth on the primary lap, gaining one other spot when countryman Carlos Sainz fell again as a consequence of accident harm.
“I believe the automotive felt quick as we speak,” mentioned Alonso when requested by Autosport about his robust type on Sunday.
“The blokes did an unbelievable job once more on the technique, additionally on the pitstops. We made a couple of locations additionally yesterday, even when we did not end the race. And yeah, I believe as we speak the automotive felt extra regular.
“So we had a couple of ideas after Hungary, after Silverstone. So the crew was making a couple of set-up modifications additionally to the automotive. And I believe it paid off as we speak. The automotive felt extra regular, extra aggressive. So yeah glad, and a great increase for summer time.”
Alonso admitted that it hadn’t been simple to get all the things proper on a tough rain-hit dash weekend.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Group, in Parc Ferme
Photograph by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
“I felt positively extra aggressive than the previous couple of occasions,” he mentioned. “It was not a simple weekend to enter the rhythm, and the moist qualifying and observe altering on a regular basis. So not a lot expertise on dry.
“I believe, aside from McLaren, we have been all on the dry set-up, or dryish. We by no means did two laps with the identical circumstances all by the weekend. It was simply getting drier and drier, and finally into the slicks. And that was all about qualifying, the dash format is all the time like that.
“And yeah, I used to be fortunate at the beginning. Earlier than Eau Rouge I made a couple of locations there, and I used to be a little bit bit nervous if we are going to fall again, and the tempo won’t be ok to maintain that place.
“However it was good, as we speak the automotive felt quick. We saved one Mercedes behind, one McLaren behind. So we have been within the combine. And that is excellent news earlier than the summer time break.”
Alonso, who turned 42 on Saturday, conceded that have is invaluable in circumstances akin to dash weekends.
“I’m almost 43 you may say now!,” he joked. “I believe folks already noticed that it isn’t an enormous change once you’re 41 or once you’re 25. It is extra in your head, within the motivation, the way you method the weekend.
“And yeah, races like as we speak or the begins of as we speak, or perhaps a few examples in different groups, they guess extra on expertise, like Daniel [Ricciardo] now in AlphaTauri, and issues like that. So it isn’t about youth, it is nearly going quick.”
Reflecting on the primary half of the 2023 season he mentioned: “Unimaginable. A dream first half of the season, we’re P3 within the constructors’ championship in entrance of Ferrari, we’re P3 within the drivers’ championship along with Lewis. It was not possible to suppose this fashion in Bahrain.”