Aston Martin faced a challenging qualifying session in Jeddah, with Fernando Alonso securing 13th place while team-mate Lance Stroll narrowly missed out on progressing beyond Q1.
Fernando Alonso maximised his opportunities, achieving what he believed to be the absolute limit of the car’s potential. “Jeddah is one of my favourite circuits and I think I achieved the maximum from the car with P13” Alonso explained. While he successfully advanced to Q2, using all available sets of new Soft tyres in the process meant further improvement was always unlikely. Acknowledging ongoing performance struggles, Alonso remains cautiously optimistic about the unpredictable nature of street circuits.
Lance Stroll, despite improvements in setup from previous sessions, was unable to progress past Q1, narrowly missing the cut. “Qualifying was our most competitive session this weekend so far” Stroll remarked, highlighting incremental improvements but acknowledging persistent handling difficulties. With further progress needed, Stroll’s focus for race day is to capitalise on opportunities as they present themselves.
CEO and Team Principal Andy Cowell recognised the tight competition and the small margins defining the grid positions. Praising the team’s management of the session and effective tyre preparation, Cowell maintained a positive outlook for race day. “We will come out ready to take any opportunity to progress and compete for points” he affirmed, underlining the team’s determination to maximise their race potential despite starting from further back on the grid.
