Data from Fernando Alonso's lap time shows how much Aston Martin has declined this season

Aston Martin F1 driver Fernando Alonso qualified in P10 at the end of the 2023 Japanese GP in Suzuka on Saturday. The Spaniard never looked as competitive as his rivals, who were fighting for the top positions on the grid.

The result has once again highlighted how far the car has regressed in the last couple of races.

While the AMR23 started the season as the second-best car on the grid, it has slowly been out-developed by its rivals. The car is clearly the fifth-best on the grid right now and surprisingly, Fernando Alonso's lap time on Saturday was slower than Sebastian Vettel's in the AMR22 last season.

The two-time world champion could only manage 1:30.560, which was slower than his Q2 time. Vettel posted a time of 1:30.554 in a slower car around the Suzuka International Circuit last year.

Fernando Alonso analyzes his P10 finish at the end of the Japanese GP qualifying

The Spaniard stated that he got the most out of the car at the end of the session. He also pointed out that he had predicted they would struggle in Suzuka ahead of the weekend.

As per F1.com, Fernando Alonso said:

“It was difficult for us to find any more pace today. I extracted the maximum from my laps and I'm happy to keep my run of Q3 appearances going. From track to track, the performance levels keep changing – on paper, we knew it would be challenging today.

"It will be an interesting race, but we are optimistic of scoring good points tomorrow. Usually, we are better in the race, so let’s see what we can do.”

Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack too praised Alonso for his efforts and said:

“A tough session today. Both drivers did a good job – but we have to be honest with ourselves: we did not have enough performance to qualify higher. Fernando maintains his consecutive streak of Q3 appearances this year: he will start 10th for tomorrow’s Grand Prix.

"Tire degradation is likely to play a key role in this race. We have kept one eye on our tire allocation throughout practice – and we feel we are in good shape for tomorrow."

It will be interesting to see where Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso finish at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.