On this particular Sunday, the Brazilian Grand Prix was a helpful source of points for Aston Martin. Aside from Alonso’s eighth podium of this campaign, Lance Stroll finished in a strong fifth place and gained major points for the team after scoring a surprising P3 qualifying, which also happens to be his best qualifying performance since 2020.
Photo Credit: Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team
The 25-year-old didn’t last long on the second row of the grid. He lost three spots on the initial start as he was a net P2 because of Charles Leclerc’s problem on the formation lap. The Canadian would then call behind Russell and Perez on the second start as he dropped to P7.
However, he managed to regain two positions, passing George Russell and Lewis Hamilton with ease early in the second stint. He slowly pulled away from Carlos Sainz as the race went on, too.
Stroll saw the chequered flag in P5, less than 7s adrift of the amazing battle that unfolded between his teammate Fernando Alonso and former stablemate Sergio Perez.
“Really good,” was his response to how the car felt in São Paulo. “Just really happy with the pace of the car. We were quicker than Mercedes and Ferrari today. I’m happy with that.
The last podium for Aston Martin came at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort back in August. Since then it has been a tail of lacking pace and falling back through the pack.
Stroll believes this was their best showing since Canada in regards to pace. Alonso finished a strong P2 in Montreal to Max Verstappen.
“I think we learned a bunch of things over the last couple of months.
“We didn’t have pace like this since probably like Canada or something. Really positive day.
Asked if the floor update to Austin has made a difference, Stroll says they need time to analyse why the car came alive and had the speed it showed in the early part of 2023.
“Maybe. We have to look into the data and understand the car this week, but definitely a very competitive weekend.”
One negative was the starts. As well as Stroll dropping five spots across the two of them, Fernando Alonso also had tardy launches, but the two-time World Champion managed to minimise the damage.
“I think we were both pretty poor compared to the Mercedes and the Red Bulls… and kind of everyone. So yeah, that was kind of the bummer of the day really. Without that, I think there was maybe another couple of positions in it, but it is what it is. Other than that, felt good in the car,” he concluded.
Photo Credit: Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team
