Alonso expresses his disappointment after Aston Martin loses around 8 tenths of performance compared to last year

F1 Grand Prix, GP Austria, Red Bull Ring

Fernando Alonso left puzzled after the tough qualifying session that saw the Aston Martin drivers languish at the back end of the field at the Red Bull Ring.

The two-time world champion was not surprised by the lack of pace after Friday's practice session and sprint qualifying which saw Aston Martin struggle for performance.

The Spaniard had a difficult sprint race after a contact with Nico Hulkenberg saw him drop down to P17. In qualifying, he managed to beat his team-mate Lance Stroll, but he ended the day down in P15.

"We were expecting a difficult Qualifying session here in Austria and unfortunately fifteenth position was the best we could achieve today. We made some changes to the car between the Sprint Race and Qualifying, and huge credit to the team who worked flat-out to get everything ready.

"However, we didn't get much reward for this hard work. Let's see what we can do tomorrow, we will stay focused and try our best to achieve the maximum result possible," concluded Alonso.

His team-mate Lance Stroll was eliminated in Q1 after ending the segment in P17.

"It's an incredibly tight field out there but, unfortunately, we seem to be on the back foot. Yesterday we managed to out-qualify the car, but today we've struggled in both the Sprint and this afternoon's Qualifying session. Realistically, tomorrow's going to be a tough day."

Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack was delighted with the performance of his drivers, putting the Silvertsone-based outfit's dismal results down to the car. Krack expects the AMR24 struggle for pace at next weekend's British Grand Prix as well.

"A challenging Sprint and Qualifying session today. This is a phase of the season we knew would be difficult and Silverstone is likely to be similar.

"Lance and Fernando gave it everything today, but we are not giving them the right tools they need to compete for the point-scoring positions. Tomorrow is going to be a long race, but we will focus on being there to take any favourable opportunities."