Alonso finishes P12, Stroll retires with battery issue
Autódromo José Carlos PaceThe São Paulo Grand Prix, Round 20 of the Formula 1 season, took place at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace (commonly known as Interlagos Circuit).
Fernando Alonso started from eighth on the grid and Lance Stroll from 16th, both on intermediate tyres.
Shortly after the start, Oliver Bearman (Haas), running ahead of Alonso, lost control of his car at Turn 3 and made contact with the front of Alonso's car on the outside. Both cars went off track. Alonso lost positions on the run to Turn 4 and completed the opening lap in 12th. Stroll also lost ground amid the opening-lap chaos between the start and Turn 4, but avoided contact with other cars and ended Lap 1 in 19th.
On Lap 2, Alonso was overtaken on the inside by Max Verstappen (Red Bull) at Turn 1, before Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) also passed him on the inside at Turn 4, dropping him to 14th. On Lap 3, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) overtook Alonso on the inside at Turn 1, pushing him down to 15th.
Alonso then engaged in a battle with Carlos Sainz (Williams) from Lap 6, eventually making a successful move down the inside at Turn 8 on Lap 7 to climb to 14th.
On Lap 10, Alonso overtook Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) around the outside between Turns 6 and 7 to move up to 13th.
Meanwhile, Stroll, who had been running in 19th, made a move down the inside of Rafael Câmara (Haas) at Turn 10 on Lap 10 to take 18th. He then overtook Sainz on the inside at Turn 1 on Lap 12 to move up to 17th.
As the track began to dry from Lap 15 onwards, drivers started switching from intermediate to soft tyres. Alonso gained positions as other cars made their pit stops, while Stroll pitted on Lap 16 and was running in 16th on Lap 17.
Alonso briefly climbed as high as fifth after passing Turn 3 on Lap 17. He pitted at the end of that lap to switch to soft tyres and rejoined the track in 12th on Lap 18.
On Lap 19, Sainz attempted to overtake Stroll around the outside from the main straight into Turn 1, but Stroll successfully defended his position. However, on Lap 23, Sainz passed Stroll on the main straight, dropping him to 17th. Stroll attempted to regain the position with a move down the inside at Turn 1, but lost the balance of his car and was unable to complete the overtake. At the following Turn 2, Bearman also passed him, pushing Stroll down to 18th.
On Lap 30, Stroll developed a problem with his car. He lost power on the exit of Turn 12 and received a radio message from the team informing him of the issue. Although Stroll managed to return to the pits, he was unable to get the car back to the garage and was forced to retire.
On Lap 34, Alonso was involved in a fierce battle for position with Alexander Albon (Williams). When Albon ran wide at Turn 1, Alonso took advantage to move ahead into 11th. Albon regained the position at Turn 6, but Alonso fought back with another move down the inside at Turn 7 to reclaim 11th.
Rain intensified again in the closing stages, and on Lap 57, Alonso reported over the radio that the rain was getting heavier. The FIA declared low-grip conditions, prohibiting the use of overtake mode. Alonso made his third pit stop at the end of Lap 60, switching from soft to intermediate tyres. He continued in 14th on Lap 61.
On Lap 62, Alonso moved up to 12th as Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, both driving for Alpine, pitted ahead of him.
Alonso continued to complete laps in the rain and eventually crossed the finish line in 12th, one lap down on the race winner.
The car felt strong today, particularly in the corners, and we were having some good fights out on track. I think it was one of our most competitive races, but we were struggling for performance on the straights. We made a strong start in the wet conditions, but then I couldn’t avoid contact with Ollie [Bearman] who lost some control of his car in Turn 3. There are positives to take from this weekend, and we need to keep working hard to close the gap for next year.
The car felt strong today, particularly in the corners, and we were having some good fights out on track. I think it was one of our most competitive races, but we were struggling for performance on the straights. We made a strong start in the wet conditions, but then I couldn’t avoid contact with Ollie [Bearman] who lost some control of his car in Turn 3. There are positives to take from this weekend, and we need to keep working hard to close the gap for next year.
We had to retire the car on Lap 30 due to a battery issue. It’s been another challenging weekend at the end of a long triple header, but we know the areas we need to work on for next year. We now focus on the final push of the season and will use the time before we head to Las Vegas to see where we can make improvements on our current performance.
We had to retire the car on Lap 30 due to a battery issue. It’s been another challenging weekend at the end of a long triple header, but we know the areas we need to work on for next year. We now focus on the final push of the season and will use the time before we head to Las Vegas to see where we can make improvements on our current performance.
Mixed fortunes for us today: a strong drive from Fernando to finish P12 and Lance unfortunately retiring with a battery issue. Overall we must be satisfied with the outcome of the weekend as we were ahead of competitors with faster cars in Qualifying and Race. We always look forward to racing here in São Paulo – an iconic track with a passionate crowd - so it was great to deliver a strong performance in front of the Brazilian fans.
Mixed fortunes for us today: a strong drive from Fernando to finish P12 and Lance unfortunately retiring with a battery issue. Overall we must be satisfied with the outcome of the weekend as we were ahead of competitors with faster cars in Qualifying and Race. We always look forward to racing here in São Paulo – an iconic track with a passionate crowd - so it was great to deliver a strong performance in front of the Brazilian fans.
The race began well from a power unit perspective until we suffered an ERS issue on Lance’s car on Lap 30. From the data, we suspect it’s the same problem as yesterday and we need to find the root cause of this before the next race.
Fernando’s eighth place on the grid is our highest starting position of the year with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team and that is encouraging. In the mixed weather conditions during the race, we kept adapting the power unit settings well to the wet and the dry running.
The overall result today is better considering the tough outcome we had at the last event. The work will now continue in the UK and Japan to prepare for Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The race began well from a power unit perspective until we suffered an ERS issue on Lance’s car on Lap 30. From the data, we suspect it’s the same problem as yesterday and we need to find the root cause of this before the next race.
Fernando’s eighth place on the grid is our highest starting position of the year with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team and that is encouraging. In the mixed weather conditions during the race, we kept adapting the power unit settings well to the wet and the dry running.
The overall result today is better considering the tough outcome we had at the last event. The work will now continue in the UK and Japan to prepare for Las Vegas Grand Prix.
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