“Outstanding” Alonso praised for having the “energy of a 22-year-old”

Alonso secured his highest finishing position in the F1 drivers’ championship in nearly a decade, securing foirth in the final classification. 

That was despite a mid-season slump from Aston Martin, who dropped well behind the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.

Speaking on the Sky F1 podcast, Chandhok was impressed with who Alonso ‘maximised’ his car consistently last year.

“When I try and rank these drivers, it is all about maximising their package,” Chandhok said. 

“So, for me, I think that’s where Fernando scores. He absolutely maximises the potential of that car. They started the season very strongly. On average, in the first part of the year until Spain, the Aston was about .5 of a percent away from the Red Bull and that’s a huge gain.”

Chandhok believes enough though Aston Martin lost some performance during the middle of the season, Alonso’s personal level didn't change.

“There’s lots of conversations around the front wing regulations and things like that maybe having affected them, I don’t know, but certainly if you look at the stats from Spain onwards, average qualifying data slips to .867%,," he added.

“So there’s a substantial shift, pre Spain versus post Spain, but still Fernando had races like in Holland, for example, when the rain came down, and this is a sniff of an opportunity for some creative thinking and strategic thinking and just having your wits about you. He was there on the podium. 

“The result in Brazil, that battle with Checo, he outfoxed Checo. I think those drives just show he’s still got the energy of a 22-year-old not a 42-year-old. For me. It was an outstanding season.”