Fernando Alonso asserts that Aston Martin cannot rely solely on Adrian Newey to restore the team's performance in Formula 1.
There is widespread speculation among insiders that the Silverstone-based team will soon announce that they have successfully enlisted the services of the outgoing Red Bull technical mastermind.
"It's all still just rumours," team driver Alonso remarked at Monza on Sunday.
The two-time world champion had just shared his concerns with a group of Spanish journalists about Aston Martin's lackluster performance in 2024.
"We need to be patient and understand that the big target is 2026," said Alonso, 43.
"As a team, we need to accept that we are not in the battle for the top four teams. They are the top teams for a reason because they are way ahead of us. But us being behind Williams, Haas and Alpha Tauri (RB)?" he added. "I think in that case we need to raise our level. We need to improve."
Reflecting on his performance in the Italian GP, Alonso said he had anticipated finishing around 16th or 17th but ultimately delivered "maybe my best race of 2024" and secured P11.
"Tomorrow," Alonso stated, "I will be the only one who remembers 'Alonso's Monza 2024'. Our car eats up the tyres, we slide in the corners, we have no grip. We have hardly any strong points. Let's see if there is a response, some action, and not always coming with the same car," he added.
Regarding the growing rumours about Newey joining the team, Alonso cautioned that there are no magic solutions in Formula 1.
"I think it's not just one person's job to fix things," he said when asked about the increasing likelihood of the renowned 65-year-old Briton donning green from 2025.
"It's more about what we have now, what we're producing, understanding what's going in the right direction, what's going in the wrong direction, and trying to prepare for 2025 in a better way," Alonso concluded.
