Fernando Alonso has shown impressive pace thus far at the F1 Dutch GP. After a successful FP2 session, the Spaniard surprised by finishing just 0.087s behind Lando Norris in P1. Effectively splitting up the McLaren drivers.
Aston Martin have shown quite the performance in the two practice sessions and will hope to continue this strong momentum into the rest of the weekend. When speaking about the session after FP2, the former World Champion expressed:
“A little bit more optimistic than some of the other Fridays we did. Hungary was strong for us, and now we’re going to the following race in Zandvoort and we’re still showing some good pace in free practice. We know it’s only free practice, but it’s good to see our times up there and let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”
Not enough to fight the McLarens
While the driver stays optimistic for the weekend, he still believes it is not enough to fight the dominant McLarens. Still, Alonso seems it could be possible to challenge some of the other top teams. When asked if Aston Martin can fight the McLarens for a front row start, the Spaniard responded:
“No, not really. I don’t think that is within our reach to fight with the McLarens. But maybe, some of the top teams, Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, they seem not too far away. So we will try to be in that mix.”
He continued on to be asked if the bigger picture is more positive now. The Spanish driver appeared quite positive about the situation at Aston Martin as they head into the second half of the season, and even next season.
“Yeah definitely. I mean, this year unfortunately, we are not fighting for big, big things. So the main focus for the rest of the season is to make sure that we understand what we do in the factory and we translate those learning into the track. It seems that in the last couple of months, everything we brought to the track is working as expected. This brings huge confidence into what we will do now in the next winter, knowing that our tools and what we do in the factory should translate, hopefully into the Barcelona test next year.”
Stroll optimistic despite big crash in FP2
His teammate, Lance Stroll, suffered a big moment into the barrier at Turn 3, only 12 minutes into the FP2 session. As the Canadian had quite the speed heading into the corner, he took a big hit while his Aston Martin looked destroyed. Earlier this year, Stroll had underwent a procedure due to his hand and wrist pain that stemmed from an accident where he broke both wrists in 2023. Because of this, it becomes quite concerning when the driver has a heavy impact crash as it could lead to worsening his condition. When asked about his wrists and if his hands were doing okay, Stroll responded: “Yeah, all good!”
The Canadian driver continued on to be asked about the FP2 incident, in which he explained:
“Just a little lock up and then from there I was just a passenger. So yeah, just one of those things.”
Even though Stroll’s FP2 running ended prematurely, the Canadian looked quick in the early runs. Surprisingly, he grabbed P3 earlier today in the first practice session as he finished half a second behind the McLaren of Oscar Piastri. The Aston Martin driver was asked if today was a positive day in terms of the car in both session, and responded:
“Yeah, for sure! I think we look competitive all the way throughout the day. And again, Fernando now in FP2. So we’re in a good spot and see what we can do tomorrow.”
Stroll optimistically responded when asked if they can aim for the first couple of rows in Qualifying tomorrow, stating: “I think so! It looks like that, for sure it looks that way. So yeah, we’ll see”
With the Aston Martins looking rather quick this weekend, they will hope to have a successful qualifying tomorrow and fight for a good position.
