Alonso and Stroll both retire from Mexican GP
Autodromo Hermanos RodriguezThe Mexican Grand Prix, Round 19 of the Formula 1 season, took place at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Fernando Alonso started from P17 and Lance Stroll from P19, with both drivers on the Soft tyre.
Both cars lost ground at the start, with Alonso dropping as low as P20 and Stroll to P21. Alonso briefly overtook Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) early on the opening lap, but Bottas soon regained the position. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) then spun at Turn 6, allowing Alonso to move up to P19 and Stroll to P20.
Alonso continued to challenge Ryo Hirakawa (Haas), drawing alongside him at Turns 10 and 13 but unable to complete the pass, and ended Lap 1 in P19. He tried again around the outside of Hirakawa at Turn 13 on Lap 2, but the order remained unchanged as Alonso and Stroll began Lap 3 in P19 and P20 respectively.
Under braking for Turn 1 on Lap 3, Stroll was overtaken on the inside by Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) and dropped to P21. The team then instructed Stroll to use lift-and-coast from 100 metres before three designated braking points, use second gear through low-speed corners and leave a larger gap to the car ahead. Similar instructions were also given to Alonso.
Towards the end of Lap 3, the team told Stroll to pit early, explaining that running without access to clean air would make things difficult. Alonso was then also called into the pits, and both cars stopped at the end of the lap.
Both drivers switched from Soft tyres to another set of Softs. Alonso completed his stop first, while Stroll had to wait briefly for Alonso’s pit work to be completed. After rejoining, Alonso was running P21 and Stroll P22 at the end of Lap 4.
However, on Lap 5, the team informed Alonso that the same issue seen in Qualifying had reoccurred and instructed him to return to the pits and retire the car. Alonso followed the instruction and his race came to an end.
Stroll was then also informed of an issue as he began Lap 6 and was told to stop the car. He slowed after Turn 3 before pulling off the circuit at Turn 6.
As a result, both Alonso and Stroll retired after completing five laps, with neither car reaching the finish.
A frustrating end to the day. We knew it was going to be tough, but having to retire the car so early is disappointing. The same MGUK issue that stopped us in Qualifying reoccurred and forced us to stop. Days like today bring hard lessons, but we are learning. I'm doing my best to stay motivated and will continue to give everything I can as we look ahead to Brazil next week.
A frustrating end to the day. We knew it was going to be tough, but having to retire the car so early is disappointing. The same MGUK issue that stopped us in Qualifying reoccurred and forced us to stop. Days like today bring hard lessons, but we are learning. I'm doing my best to stay motivated and will continue to give everything I can as we look ahead to Brazil next week.
We had an issue and had to stop the car on Lap 6 to avoid damaging the battery. A tough day for the team, who have worked long hours this whole weekend. Still, there’s plenty to think about with the car and only a few days before we head to Brazil. We’ll see what we’ve got there.
We had an issue and had to stop the car on Lap 6 to avoid damaging the battery. A tough day for the team, who have worked long hours this whole weekend. Still, there’s plenty to think about with the car and only a few days before we head to Brazil. We’ll see what we’ve got there.
It has been a disappointing day, especially as Fernando showed very good pace all weekend.
It has been a disappointing day, especially as Fernando showed very good pace all weekend.
We knew that with the special high-altitude circumstance of Mexico City, we would face some additional challenges compared to other racetracks for the cooling. However, we found that our ERS cooling circuit was under heavier stress than anticipated and this is why we had to stop the car in different sessions.
Despite completing a series of laps during the practice sessions, the issue occurred today and during qualifying yesterday.
At each race this year, we need to learn for 2027, even the hard lessons. We have a lot of data that we can bring back to this circuit next year, including on the turbo lag, and we will work on the solutions.
We knew that with the special high-altitude circumstance of Mexico City, we would face some additional challenges compared to other racetracks for the cooling. However, we found that our ERS cooling circuit was under heavier stress than anticipated and this is why we had to stop the car in different sessions.
Despite completing a series of laps during the practice sessions, the issue occurred today and during qualifying yesterday.
At each race this year, we need to learn for 2027, even the hard lessons. We have a lot of data that we can bring back to this circuit next year, including on the turbo lag, and we will work on the solutions.
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