Fernando Alonso admitted after the Canadian GP that he had to stop his race to ‘put an end to the pain’ caused by persistent problems with the seat. The two-time world champion once again had a difficult weekend in Montreal. In the search for better performance, Aston Martin may have lost sight of comfort for the Spaniard. He will probably get a new seat fitted for Monaco.
Read more Komatsu warns FIA about rising costs: ‘This is not the right direction’
In the sprint race prior to the Grand Prix, Alonso’s seating also caused problems. Despite the team’s attempts to improve the situation, the discomfort remained. After 23 laps, he ultimately decided to retire, partly because further improvement due to rain or safety cars seemed unlikely. “We had a problem with the seat, which made me feel increasingly uncomfortable as the laps went on,” he explained afterwards. “The seating position didn’t feel right, and yes, we were clearly outside the points and there was no threat of rain anymore. So we decided to put an end to the pain. For Monaco, we are trying to make a new seat.”
‘Car must be as low as possible’
Within Aston Martin, top engineer Mike Krack confirmed that the problem had been ongoing for some time and may be related to the chosen positioning of the cockpit. “He (Alonso, ed.) has been uncomfortable for a while,” added the Luxembourger. “It was never unbearable, but he did experience a kind of pressure point that got worse and worse. I think we need to reconsider the positioning a bit.”
He also does not rule out that the team has gone too far in the search for performance. “You try to sit as low as possible with these cars, and if you look at how drivers have been sitting in recent years, you see that they are increasingly in a lying position. I think we might need to take a step back to how we did it in the past.”
NOW ONLINE: 40 pages Race Special GP Canada: our online magazine with news, reactions, analysis and interview!
Read more Ferrari surprises itself in Canada: ‘Pace was better than expected’, says Vasseur
