(Motorsports news) Fernando Alonso dismantled Aston’s significant Imola modification in FP1, which comprised a front wing, diffuser, and floor overhaul. Lance Stroll then received the parts starting in FP2.
But even though competitor teams either unveiled new components or improved upon Miami-provided ones during the course of the weekend, Aston’s improvements may have improved performance overall but not relative competitiveness.
After extensive repairs by the Silverstone crew, Alonso’s weekend was ruined by an accident at Rivazza in FP3. The Spaniard just made it to the start of qualifying.
However, Alonso was summoned into the box with more problems after another Q1 off at Tamburello, and he finished the practice in eighteenth place. Because it was tough to pass, the team decided to start from the pitlane and make setup changes, turning his race into a glorified test outside of the scoring category.
Stroll’s 13th-place finish didn’t exactly improve things, though he did gain two points by rising to ninth
Alonso’s off-track exploits revealed, in Krack’s opinion, that the AMR24 is currently “difficult to drive,” even though it has marginally improved in speed.
“It’s hard to start from where we started in Imola,” Krack remarked following the race. We end up with two points, which I think is a pretty solid result and demonstrates the car’s continued capability.
However, we have also observed that driving is challenging. Over the weekend, there were a few offs for us. Since we were really behind after that, the one from yesterday was actually having the biggest effect on us.
“We decided to start in the pitlane and make changes to the car to see if we could make it simpler since we wanted to learn more. Our goal was to improve upon our previous performance. But what happened yesterday also somewhat undermined it.”
Following qualifying, Stroll made it clear that the Imola improvement package—which technical director Dan Fallows referred to as a “aggressive” program—was unable to keep up with its immediate competitors.
Aston could end up dropping further out of the top four, even though RB has improved since Miami.
Although Krack cautioned against drawing hasty conclusions following Imola, pointing out that the situation might differ in Monaco and Montreal, he acknowledged that the AMR24 urgently needs greater firepower.
“We’re not happy with two points, that is clear,” he stated. It’s always a relative game, though, because other people are also contributing advancements.
It’s difficult; we must not undervalue that. I believe that every team—aside from one—has a long list of enhancements, demonstrating how fiercely competitive the entire field is.”
“We have to really keep pushing and bringing more stuff.”
Also read: Ferrari announces ex-Mercedes F1 men D’ambrosio’s arrivement, Serra
