Fernando Alonso has lowered the expectations in Saudi Arabia despite things looking promising in both practice sessions for Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team, saying that the main goal is to just reach Q3.
Alonso scored a podium last time out in Bahrain and will be quietly hoping that he can once again challenge up the higher end of the grid for big points this weekend. The two-time world champion showed good pace in both sessions, especially FP2, where he split both Oracle Red Bull Racing cars to finish second.
However, despite the good pace, expectations have been lowered but a good weekend for Aston Martin looks extremely likely once again.
“It has been a strong day for us as we continue to learn about this car. We knew that Jeddah would present different challenges to Bahrain and it is almost like a second test here for everyone this weekend.
“Overall, the day went smoothly for us as we are trying to optimise the setup and adjust to the high-speed nature of this circuit. We have a lot of data to analyse as usual for a Friday and we will continue to look at everything tonight and into tomorrow. Our main goal will be to reach Q3 again.”
Lance Stroll: “All the teams around us look competitive”
Lance Stroll has predicted a tight and competitive qualifying session in Jeddah tomorrow and is ready to challenge in the midst of the battle tomorrow evening after a solid Friday performance.
The Canadian driver showed particularly good pace in FP1 and was able to fill in just behind his team-mate in fourth. FP2 followed and despite having less pace, Stroll still did fairly well with a seventh-placed finish once the chequered flag was waved.
Stroll spoke on his love for the Jeddah Conichore Circuit and similarly to Alonso, he has lowered the expectations and spoke about the team’s aim to reach Q3 tomorrow evening on the streets of Saudi Arabia.
“It is always fun driving around this track. It is high-speed and high adrenaline; I think we all enjoy the challenge. The team had a good day of running, trying lots of different things, and it has given us plenty of data to analyse.
“We will use this evening to learn as much as possible and do our best find more performance ahead of Qualifying. I think it will be a pretty tight session; all the teams around us look competitive and closely matched. Our aim tomorrow has to be Q3.”
