Martin brundle explains what's 'doubly painful' for mercedes

Former F1 driver-turned-pundit Martin Brundle has claimed Aston Martin could "emerge as the major challengers to Red Bull" following Fernando Alonso's impressive third-place

finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Brundle was full of praise for Alonso after his performance, describing the 41-year-old as "at his absolute most feisty, aggressive, irrepressible

best" in his first competitive outing for Aston Martin. And he believes Alonso's performance will be "doubly painful for Mercedes" as he overtook both Lewis Hamilton and 

George Russell during the race and both cars have "the same engine, gearbox and rear suspension and use the same wind tunnel".  In his latest column for Sky Sports, Brundle wrote:

"Fernando was at his absolute most feisty, aggressive, irrepressible best and made the final podium slot his own through sheer determination. And his tyres somehow survived his demands.

JUST IN: TOTO WOLFF ACCUSED OF 'KICKING' MERCEDES ENGINEERS 'IN THE WHATNOTS' "The skill with which Fernando passed both the Mercedes cars - including that cheeky

move on Lewis into Turn 10 - and Carlos' Ferrari was brilliant. He was all over the back of them and whichever way they went, he sliced the other side with so much command and

confidence. "It was a pleasure to watch. In terms of Aston's prospects going forward, once again a good car works everywhere and gives the drivers confidence. "Ferrari might

well be a bit quicker than Aston and Mercedes over one lap, but when it comes to the longer stints there's little in it. Because of their lowly championship finishing position last

year, under the latest rules Aston Martin have so much more wind tunnel development time than their main three rivals. "It's already a good package but if they know where to go to

improve it, then by mid-season they could emerge as the major challengers to Red Bull. That's doubly painful for Mercedes because Aston Martin have the same engine, gearbox and rear

suspension and use the same wind tunnel. "At this juncture Red Bull will pipe up that, due to personnel movements, Aston have followed their design philosophy remarkably closely.

That's the playground politics of what is in effect a very small group of intensively competitive people."