Alonso's 400th GP: Aston Martin Faces Uphill Battle in Mexico

Aston Martin struggles in Mexico as Alonso marks his milestone 400th Grand Prix, aiming for a memorable weekend despite difficulties.

Aston Martin F1 experienced a somewhat challenging day in Mexico as they kicked off the 20th race weekend of the season. Lance Stroll, characteristically reserved, offered a brief summary of his focus for the day.

“Just the usual Friday stuff, working on the setup,” the Canadian driver explained, before offering an early assessment of his team’s performance. “I think we are not very competitive.”

Fernando Alonso is marking his 400th Grand Prix in Formula 1 this weekend, and the Spaniard is determined to make the most of it, regardless of his car’s performance level: “I haven’t been 100% physically over the past few days, but I think I’ll be fine by Sunday.”

“The circuit isn’t among the most demanding, so it should be okay. The Mexico race is always a good one, and it’s a double celebration for me with this 400th Grand Prix. I hope to enjoy the weekend, every second of it, starting with tomorrow’s qualifying.”

The Spaniard remains somewhat pessimistic about the AMR24’s performance: “We’ll see, I only did the FP2 session, and with the Pirelli tests, we don’t have any conclusions yet. Qualifying will reveal the truth, but we’re expecting a tough weekend. It was the same last year, but we’ll do our best.”

Drugovich: “A step forward to help the team”

Felipe Drugovich took over from Alonso in FP1 and expressed his satisfaction at being back behind the wheel after several months away: “It was a good session. We focused on gathering aerodynamic data right from the start. I did two runs like that, and at the end, I managed some quick laps.”

“It wasn’t ideal with the red flags, but I managed to gather some data. I had very few quick laps, very few indeed, and I would have liked to do more as I think I could have performed much better. Traffic disrupted me, but it was still a valuable experience.”

“They can see my potential through the data, and that’s what matters most. I’m not worried—it’s always better to have your name higher up, but I’m satisfied with my work. There are things beyond our control, and I’m grateful for the opportunity I had.”

The Brazilian believes that this experience will help him better correlate what he feels in the simulator with how it translates to the track: “I’ve spent a large part of the year in the simulator to improve this car, but I hadn’t driven it on track, and it’s tricky.”

“People often ask me about the feeling with the car in the simulator, but I don’t truly know what it’s like in real life. After a session like this, I’ll be able to take a step forward to support the team. The drivers do it—they go back and forth with the simulator—but now there’ll be one more person who can contribute in this way.”

However, Drugovich remains uncertain about his short- and medium-term future: “I’m not sure—I hope for more FP1 sessions, but it’s a bit early to say. We’ll see how things unfold throughout the year, and what lies ahead next year, but I don’t know what will happen. Still, I’m happy with my work and with what the team offers me.”