Eighth-fastest Aston Martin doesn't deserve points: Fernando Alonso 

Fernando Alonso has delivered a brutal verdict about his Aston Martin, as he's claimed that the car is the 8th fastest and not deserving of points. The Spaniard was in an upbeat mood yesterday, as the practice sessions showed a strong pace.

The team, however, made changes to the car overnight, and all of a sudden, in FP3, it became clear that the car had taken a step back. After competing with the frontrunners on Friday, Fernando Alonso dropped deep in the midfield. In qualifying, the Spaniard was able to drag the car to Q3 and will start the race in the top 10.

Surprisingly, however, Alonso was not impressed, as he felt that the Aston Martin was just too slow and points were unlikely. Talking about the car's position in the pecking order. The Spaniard said that he felt that the car was slower than the likes of Williams, Haas, and Racing Bulls as well. If the points were given on merit, the team would not be deserving of any. He told the media, including Sportskeeda,

"I think it's going to be difficult, but we are not fast enough to win the points. There are the top four teams, and the fifth clear top team is AlphaTauri, Isack Hadjar, and then here Haas are clearly in front of us, and maybe Williams as well."

He added,

"We put a lap together today, but if you put the two cars together, I think we are maybe the eighth-fastest team or something like that. If we score points, it's welcome, but maybe we don't deserve it,"

Fernando Alonso reveals changes made to the car

Aston Martin started the weekend well, with Fernando Alonso keeping up with the top teams. He topped FP1, he was more or less there in FP2 as well, but from Saturday things went haywire. The Spaniard revealed that the team made a few changes to the car that led to the drop in pace. He said,

"Yes, we changed things. I think on the set-up we made the car slower, it happens sometimes. And the others, they make the car faster, so the combination is just a few positions away."

He added,

"Yes, I think so. Nothing we can do, it's not that we decide. When you start P10, actually, you probably prefer to start P11. That guarantees you maybe points for tomorrow."

Fernando Alonso has been successful around Yas Marina in the past as he's picked up two wins at this track. He won in both 2008 and 2010. He's had multiple podiums on this track as well. This time around, however, if he's able to score points, that would come as a bonus.

Teammate Lance Stroll also had a miserable day as he couldn't even make it past Q1.