Alonso - Stroll Admit Aston Martin’s Pace Problem at Interlagos

Aston Martin’s Struggle in Brazil: Sprint Hopes Fade

01/11/2024

Aston Martin faces pace issues in Brazil, with Alonso and Stroll aligned on a tough Sprint outlook at Interlagos.

Fernando Alonso was eliminated in SQ1 during the qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix Sprint. The Aston Martin F1 driver attributes the team’s challenge in Brazil to a lack of pace, noting that there are still issues the team needs to understand.

“We didn’t have the pace in qualifying. We made changes after free practice that we knew would be critical for performance, but we have to focus on Sunday rather than Saturday. Tomorrow’s Sprint is likely to yield no points for us, so it’s essentially another free practice session,” Alonso explained.

The two-time world champion clarified that Aston Martin is placing no emphasis on the Sprint, outlining his reasoning: “The Sprint means nothing to us because only the top eight cars score points, and if you’re seventh or eighth, you’re only picking up one or two points.”

“The format doesn’t reward speed on Friday and Saturday; our focus is on Sunday. That’s our approach to Sprint weekends—pointless until Saturday afternoon, and it’s the same situation here.”

Lance Stroll, starting 19th on the grid, also echoed concerns over a lack of pace with his AMR24: “It was much bumpier than in previous years, but the main issue today is simply that we’re not fast enough. We’ll see how things go tomorrow.”

The Canadian dismissed any notion that Aston Martin might achieve a surprise result like in 2023: “We don’t have the pace we had last year when the team finished on the podium, so we’re not as confident as we were a year ago, but we’ll see what’s possible.”

Alonso – Stroll Admit Aston Martin’s Pace Problem at Interlagos Alonso – Stroll Admit Aston Martin’s Pace Problem at Interlagos

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Points
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Max Verstappen
Red Bull
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2
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Lando Norris
McLaren
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Ferrari
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4
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Oscar Piastri
McLaren
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5
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Williams
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6
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Mercedes
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