Fernando Alonso after qualifying: ‘I got everything in the car’

While Fernando Alonso is very satisfied with his qualifying result, his teammate Lance Stroll of Japan is left with questions after missing out speed. The upgrade introduced by Aston Martin looks good, although this is not yet available to all Aston Martin drivers.

Fernando Alonso was not entirely satisfied with the amount of risk he was taking in Race 3 Suzuka International Racing Course. Finally, the Spaniard is very happy with P5 for Sunday’s race, he shares F1.com. ”There were not many remains in the car, we took out everything that was in it. In the last two rounds of Q3 I was not comfortable with the risk I was taking. That didn’t work in Australia and I went off the track in Q3. If you are driving at the limit, you need a little luck to be able to complete your lap. I didn’t expect us to be so competitive.”

‘Formula 1 remains the never-ending quest for… performance‘

The Aston Martin driver sees an improvement compared to the last time Formula 1 raced at Suzuka. ”When we were in Japan six months ago, we were one and a half seconds apart pole position. Today we were about a tenth off the fastest time, so we’re making big strides.”

Alonso owes these impressive feats to a new upgrade from Aston Martin that focuses on the side panels and floor. During the first two free practice sessions on Friday, Fernando Alonso drove with the old package. During the third free practice and qualifying he drove with the new package, which allows the team to compare the data of both days. ”An update like this helps a lot. The team now has to analyze things. The problem with System 1 is that you are always waiting for the next step, even if you have taken a new step. It is an endless search performanceit is never enough.”

Qualifying at Suzuka comes to an end. 🏁

Fernando will start P5 and Lance P16 for tomorrow’s match #GPGP. pic.twitter.com/q7P6Aiscym

– Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) April 6, 2024

Walking the Lance

His teammate Lance Stroll didn’t make it past Q1 and will start Sunday’s Japan Grand Prix from P16. Despite the new update, the Canadian could not get enough speed out of his car. For him he is looking for more speed still going on. “Everything was fine in the car, but the car felt slow today. There was no movement at all in the car, or at least not in me or my car. Generally the car looks fast and Fernando looks fast too, so I don’t really know. I have no answers . We have to look closely at the data to see if the tires and everything else was working properly,” Stroll said F1.com.

Also read: Perez satisfied with second place in qualifying for Japan: “Good position to start tomorrow”

Also read: Norris after qualifying: “Not often a chance to go for pole position”

Also read: Max Verstappen: “It’s close”