Fernando Alonso achieves a second-row start with Aston Martin, showcasing one-lap speed yet bracing for a challenging race ahead.
Fernando Alonso is impressed with securing a second-row start on the grid. The Aston Martin F1 driver is pleased with having a fast car for a single lap but acknowledges the race will be challenging, coming a week after finishing ninth.
“It was fantastic; our one-lap performance is very strong, here as in Bahrain, confirming we’re in the mix with McLaren and Mercedes,” Alonso stated. “In Bahrain, we were strong over a single lap and finished in our natural position as the fifth team.”
“Tomorrow we aim to avoid falling back behind McLaren and Mercedes. But we’ll be watching our backs. We remain grounded; we were the fifth-best team last week, and that hasn’t dramatically changed.”
“I think qualifying went extremely well in the first two races. We’ve made some setup changes to improve race performance, but we’ll only know the outcome after tomorrow’s race. However, it will be a defensive race.”
Lance Stroll felt good behind the wheel, but his qualifying session ended on a tricky note, managing no better than a tenth-place grid start for the race: “Q1 went really well – the car was very nice to drive.”
“But I think we encountered some issues with it in Q3 – we need to investigate that. Suddenly, the car became a bit tricky, and then I lost time in the last sector – which is essentially just straight lines – on my final Q3 lap.”
“We need to figure out why we couldn’t go faster after Q1, as we were much better at the start of qualifying than at the end. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow. It’s going to be a long race, with a lot of degradation, so there will definitely be opportunities.”
Alonso Secures Second-Row, Eyes Tough Race. Alonso Secures Second-Row, Eyes Tough Race
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