P10 in qualifying for Fernando Alonso, who will be starting the British Grand Prix between Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc.
A good result to make it to Q3, especially as the team had been struggling in the last couple of races, but a disappointing one considering the potential.
The Spaniard was in fact held up in traffic on his Q3 out-lap and that ended up ruining what was supposed to be his best time, the only try on fresh tyres.
“We didn’t complete the lap, so we are a little bit disappointed,” he told media after qualifying.
“We had only one new set of tyres for Q3 and we didn’t make the lap. It was a big fight in the outlap between Carlos, Oscar and myself. They started really together, both of them, so their laps were not good and I started in 1st gear in the last corner, so by 10.3 I was half a second down and we boxed.”
“Being P3 in Q2, with that lap time, we were probably P7, P6, P8 in Q3.It hurts a little bit, but nothing we can do now.”
After a P6 and P7 in Canada, Aston Martin arrived in Silverstone following two races – Spielberg and Barcelona – in which neither driver managed to score points in the AMR24.
“I think we understood a couple of the problems we faced in Barcelona and Austria, so we were more optimistic for this race to fix some of those.”
“I think we confirmed that the car went back to a more natural position, 5th or 6th fastest team, fighting for the last spots in Q3, and hopefully tomorrow we’re fighting for the last couple of points with both cars.”
But what is it exactly that has improved in the car that made it possible for Alonso to make it to Q3 and Stroll to qualify in P8?
“I think we have just more grip.It’s the same car and we drive in the same way, but just a little bit faster.”
“It’s a combination. I think the upgrades are better, the car is performing better, and we tested them yesterday, the new front wing and things, and it was, as expected, a step forward,” he explained.
“I think in Austria and Barcelona we went two or three steps backwards and we fixed a little bit the car here.”
Alonso was summoned to the stewards at the end of the session, as Aston was working on his car in the fast lane of the pits.
The case, however, was closed with no penalties as the FIA found that “in this particular case the action of the team did not delay the session, impede another car nor gain any sporting advantage.”
