The Chinese Grand Prix did not go as Fernando Alonso had hoped, as he was forced to retire after just four laps due to brake overheating. In Saturday’s Sprint, he had managed to secure a solid tenth place, while in qualifying, he failed to reach Q3 but still secured 13th on the grid, a position with potential.
The first to notice something wrong with Alonso’s Aston Martin was Pierre Gasly, who reported the issue to Alpine’s pit wall via team radio. Shortly after, Alonso had to slow down and safely return to the pits, bringing his race to an early end.
With Alonso out, Lance Stroll was the only Aston Martin driver left in the race. He managed his tires well and finished 12th. However, following the disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Pierre Gasly, the Canadian moved up to ninth place, earning two championship points despite not gaining the position on track.
Lance Stroll admits Aston Martin still has a lot of work to do after the Chinese GP
After the race, Stroll commented on his performance with Aston Martin, in an interview conducted before the disqualification of the three drivers mentioned above:
“It was tough. We realized that others would go for a one-stop strategy like us. We weren’t fast enough; we still have a lot of work to do.”
Fernando Alonso also addressed questions about his retirement:
“There was an issue with the rear brake temperatures, and we had to retire the car. Losing the brakes suddenly was scary. We will analyze what happened in China and try to improve the Aston Martin ahead of the next F1 race in Japan.”
Leave a Reply