Alonso finishes 16th in sprint race
Miami International AutodromeRound 4, Miami Grand Prix Sprint Race and Qualifying took place at Miami International Autodrome.
Sprint
In the 19-lap Sprint, the team opted for a different strategy, starting on soft tyres, with Fernando Alonso starting from 20th and Lance Stroll from 21st.
Stroll passed Alonso at Turn 1, and the two ran in close proximity. Differences in energy deployment and straight-line speed then came into play, with the pair swapping positions as they worked to move forward through the field.
On lap 7, Stroll overtook Valtteri Bottas in the Cadillac, who was running on hard tyres, to move up to 18th, with Alonso also gaining positions shortly afterwards. They then set about chasing the cars ahead, around five seconds up the road.
On lap 18, Alonso moved ahead of Stroll and began to line up a move on Sergio Perez ahead.
Then, on the 19th and final lap, Perez suffered energy depletion on the back straight and moved to the inside to defend. Alonso seized the opportunity, accelerating around the outside to complete the overtake on the straight. Alonso finished 16th, with Stroll 18th.
Qualifying
Qualifying took place in clear conditions, with an ambient temperature of 33°C and a track temperature of 52°C.
In the 18-minute Q1 session, Alonso set a 1:31.661 on his first run, while Stroll recorded a 1:32.308. On their second runs, Alonso improved to a 1:31.098, with Stroll also lowering his time to a 1:31.164, although their rivals continued to improve as well.
In the closing stages of Q1, both drivers fitted a third set of soft tyres in an attempt to improve further. However, Alonso cut the chicane on his final run and had to abandon the lap, returning to the pits. Stroll was also unable to improve, resulting in Alonso finishing 17th and Stroll 18th, with both drivers eliminated in Q1.
I feel performance in Qualifying improved a little compared to yesterday and the Sprint, and it’s a relief that the PU vibration issues have improved which was a big focus over the break. Unfortunately, we had some gearbox issues which limited us, so we need to understand them tonight and try and fix things for tomorrow. We haven’t run in the wet yet, so if the weather changes it will be a learning experience for us and everyone on the grid. Let’s see what we can do.
I feel performance in Qualifying improved a little compared to yesterday and the Sprint, and it’s a relief that the PU vibration issues have improved which was a big focus over the break. Unfortunately, we had some gearbox issues which limited us, so we need to understand them tonight and try and fix things for tomorrow. We haven’t run in the wet yet, so if the weather changes it will be a learning experience for us and everyone on the grid. Let’s see what we can do.
It felt like we made some small progress since Sprint Qualifying yesterday. We had some issues with traffic on the last run in Q1 and didn’t get the tyres in the right window so lost time there. We know the areas we need to work on and improve, but that’s going to take time. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow, the weather will play a big factor for everyone.
It felt like we made some small progress since Sprint Qualifying yesterday. We had some issues with traffic on the last run in Q1 and didn’t get the tyres in the right window so lost time there. We know the areas we need to work on and improve, but that’s going to take time. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow, the weather will play a big factor for everyone.
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