Aston Martin is now almost the slowest team on the entire Formula 1 grid.
That’s the assessment not of an outspoken pundit, but of team driver and two-time champion Fernando Alonso himself.
The 43-year-old Spaniard has missed the last two Thursday ’media days’ in Mexico and now Brazil, officially because of an intestinal infection. Rumours suggested either Alonso or the team wanted him out of the media spotlight.
Speaking on Saturday about his recovery from illness, Alonso told reporters: "I feel good, I have recovered well and in the last two or three days I have returned to normal."
Less healthy is his 2024 car, whose latest upgrade package had to be almost entirely backtracked after debuting with disappointing results in Austin.
"We’ve changed things on the car, but there’s very little positive, right?" Alonso said at Interlagos, where he qualified P16 for the sprint and finished the race even lower.
"We’ve been eighth or ninth for about eight races and it’s not going to change," he added. "In the next three races we’ll be at the back of the grid as well."
When asked why Aston Martin is struggling so much, Alonso answered: "The more corners there are, the more difficult it is for us. When there’s a straight we usually go quite well - it’s just a matter of accelerating and keeping the steering wheel straight.
"It’s been a difficult time. We’ve been at the back for eight or nine races now. There have been small miracles like Baku and Singapore, but I think we can now put into perspective how much of a miracle those results were."
Alonso admits it has been a worrying fall from grace for the Silverstone based team, which will benefit from the arrival of Adrian Newey next year.
"Well, from fighting for the podium last year to now being in the last positions," he said when asked to describe the experience of the past 18 months. "But we have to try to improve. We can’t throw in the towel.
"At the same time we have to accept and resign ourselves to it in some way. You can’t perform a miracle from one weekend to the next.
"In Mexico we were the ninth or tenth team and five days later we’re still that way. So we have to think a little bit more about next year."