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Fernando Alonso suggests huge Aston Martin improvement hidden by Q1 exit ZANDVOORT – Fernando Alonso praised the Aston Martin team but said that still being a second off the pace was the reality of a “tough sport.” Alonso exited qualifying in Q1 for the 11th time this season having finally reached Q2 in Hungary but he said the time was at least a lot closer. Fernando Alonso reacts to Zandvoort qualifying While reaching Q2 seemed fanciful before the major upgrade package, it is now a realistic possibility, even if it requires a perfect lap. Alonso, who will start the race in the Netherlands in 18th place, said there was one tenth left out there but that the team was in a much stronger place. “People were doing some prep laps, some of the fast laps,” he said. “So there is always one tenth more here and there. But I think it doesn’t change much. “The position is not that the previous lap was four tenths off, it was just close to the limit. So this is what we have. “In Budapest we were in Q2, and here we were like one tenth or something like that. This is the minimum gap to the leader. “Piastri P1 in Q1 was 1.3 seconds in front of us. We used to be 4, 5 seconds average on the gap to the leader. So we improved by three seconds in two races. So this is amazing. Everything is working as expected, but this is a tough sport. You know, you always need to keep improving.” Alonso, however, said that further improvement will come from the factory and from Honda in Japan, stating that software changes will improve drivability. “There is some lap time coming from the drivability improvements,” he said. “Unfortunately, here on the track side, there is not much we can do. More from qualifying in Zandvoort Lando Norris secures Zandvoort pole as rain arrives in dramatic qualifying finale Max Verstappen says ‘easier’ F1 cars narrowing driver differences after Liam Lawson result “We need to rely on some big changes in the factory or software or whatever is needed. And this has to come from Japan, so it’s not from one day to the next. “It’s more towards probably Monza, where we need to find another step there. There are a couple of tenths to optimise in the package. As for the race, Alonso was cautiously optimistic, suggesting the team was better in the longer event compared to qualifying. “I think normally we are a little bit better on the race pace because our chassis is very good, and when the people have old tyres or older tyres in the race, we rely more on our good grip from the chassis, and we don’t rely so much on the tyres’ grip. “So we can do a better job, but at the same time, we cannot overtake on the straight. So we are in a yeah in a in a difficult position there. But we try our best.” Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists. You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more! Read next: Lando Norris explains McLaren changes behind ‘surprise’ Dutch GP pole