Nightmare weekend for Aston Martin, relegated to the back of the grid in Japan, with ambitions now limited to reliability.
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The verdict is final for Aston Martin F1 Team at the Suzuka circuit. The British team experienced an extremely difficult qualifying session, seeing both its cars eliminated in Q1 and pushed to the very back of the standings.
In an already tight hierarchy, Aston Martin found itself distanced, even behind teams that are usually less competitive. A situation that confirms the difficulties encountered since the start of the season and exposes the current limits of the car in broad daylight.
Alonso lucid about the car’s limits
Qualified only 21st, Fernando Alonso did not try to downplay the situation. The double world champion admits that Suzuka acted as a revealer of the structural weaknesses of his car.
“Difficult qualifying for us today here in Suzuka. This circuit highlights our current limits, and it showed on track.”
Despite this disappointment, the Spaniard tries to take some positives by highlighting the importance of the work accomplished on track.
“Despite the elimination in Q1, we were able to accumulate track time throughout the sessions, which is important for collecting data and better understanding the car.”
Still fond of the Japanese track, he remains motivated by the idea of maximizing the available potential in the race.
“I always love driving here, so tomorrow we will try to maximize everything we can and see what is possible.”
Stroll hit by technical issues
For his part, Lance Stroll was not spared. The Canadian will start from the last position after an attempt compromised by an energy management problem.
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“I had energy management issues during my last run in Q1 and lost a few tenths, so I will start from the back of the grid tomorrow.”
In this context, objectives have been revised downwards, with a clear priority: reaching the finish.
“The goal for the race is to see the checkered flag and cross the finish line. Our priority remains reliability until we have resolved our current problems.”
Progress… but still insufficient
Trackside Director Mike Krack shares this diagnosis. While he acknowledges some improvements over the weekend, these remain too limited to hope to play a significant role.
“We know our performance is not where it should be currently and this weekend was always going to be difficult. Lance and Fernando both pushed hard during qualifying today, each completing three runs in Q1.”
“Even though we didn’t manage to reach Q2, we have made incremental improvements and we are in a better situation compared to Friday.”
For Aston Martin, the goal is now clear: finish the race and accumulate as much information as possible to progress. In a championship marked by complex new regulations, technical understanding becomes a crucial issue.
“The focus is now on covering the race distance and building on the reliability we showed before the race.”
In Suzuka, the British team is going through a period of turbulence. And without rapid evolution, there is a great risk of seeing this gap with the leaders continue to widen in the coming weeks.
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