In Azerbaijan, Fernando Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll failed to battle the Ferrari on the flying lap, even placing themselves behind the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. On a track that rewards top speeds like that of Baku, Aston Martin has found one of its weaknesses, already highlighted in other rounds of the world championship.
However, problems with the DRS, which had already occurred in the first free practice session, weighed on the performance of the two riders of the English team, demonstrating that this was not an isolated event.
“I think we could have done a little better,” said Alonso, who qualified sixth a second behind poleman Charles Leclerc.
“We had some problems in FP1 and also in qualifying with the DRS, which cost us a few tenths. Being so close, I think it makes a difference in the standings.”
“But, anyway, it’s only Friday. We have a long weekend ahead of us. Tomorrow there will be more qualifying, another race and then Sunday’s race. So yes, there are many opportunities and hopefully we can make up some positions.”
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team, in Parc Ferme after qualifying
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Stroll confirmed that he too did not have a functioning DRS system and settled for ninth place around a second and a half off pole.
“The car handled well, but we had some problems with the DRS,” added the Canadian. “Above all in Q3 I didn’t have the DRS and this made me waste time.”
“It was frustrating, but we have to try and fix it for the race.”
Team Principal Mike Krack believes the DRS issues have masked the Aston Martin’s true potential and is therefore confident both drivers can move up the grid once the issue is resolved.
“Both Fernando and Lance performed well in difficult circumstances today,” said Krack.
“The single practice session was quite straightforward, but during qualifying we encountered a problem with the DRS on both cars, which only worked intermittently.”
“Although this cost us some time, we progressed to Q3 quite comfortably and the team and drivers did a good job of managing a challenging session under the yellow and red flags.”
“We had the potential to be a little further up the grid but I think we are in a good position to fight for the points on Sunday and this is a circuit where overtaking is possible.”
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