Photo Credit: Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team
Aston Martin came into this weekend knowing their straight-line speed deficit would impact their performance. To compound this they have been struggling with DRS problems throughout the event which have impacted both drivers.
Arriving into Saturday’s brand new Sprint day format in Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Alonso and Stroll were hoping for a smooth day.
Alonso and Stroll finished P8 and P9 respectively in the Sprint Shootout. However, being beaten by Williams’ Alex Albon would have raised eyebrows from the Silverstone-based team with the DRS problem seemingly still hampering the team.
Both drivers gained positions in the Sprint to finish P6 and P7, pulling off some nice overtaking moves in the process. The Spaniard managed to get by Lewis Hamilton at the restart, with Stroll nailing Albon later in the race with a relatively straightforward DRS pass.
After the race, Alonso showed some frustration with his countryman Carlos Sainz. This is the second race weekend in a row that Alonso has had disagreements with Sainz’s driving standards.
“Yeah, I passed Alex [Albon] and then Lewis [Hamilton] into Turn 1, and Carlos [Sainz] as well,” said Alonso.
“But Carlos put me into the wall at the entry of Turn 2. So I had o lift off. If I didn’t lift off, we would have both crashed. I hope the FIA will look at this now and maybe a top five is still possible,” concluded Alonso.
Alonso went on to say how he feels this weekend is somewhat of a damage limitation weekend for Aston Martin as they are off the pace due to the long straights on the street circuit of Baku.
“I think it’s a little bit of a damage limitation, to be honest, for us this weekend,” Alonso said, having scored three consecutive podiums at the first three Grands Prix of the season.
After the Sprint race, Stroll was in positive form about the team picking up points and looked forward to Sunday’s race, a chance to move higher up the order, given the high chance of a safety car.
“That was a hard-earned point, but I enjoyed the new format today. Every time we go out on the track, there is something to fight for. It keeps us on our toes and I think it is exciting for fans, too.”
