Aston Martin’s back-of-the-grid derby: Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso’s “private” battle in Japan. Lance Stroll reflects on his on-track battle with Fernando Alonso at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Backmarker derby at Suzuka

At Suzuka, in Honda’s home race, the Aston Martin team finally managed to bring one of its cars across the finish line, although a lap behind race winner Kimi Antonelli. This achievement was accomplished by Fernando Alonso, who celebrated the completion of the race as a small victory, noting that the AMR26 was finally able to finish a full Grand Prix distance: “We have many objectives to reach and this was one of them: to finish a race. We didn’t manage it in Australia, China, or the first test, so Suzuka was the first time ever, and we hope the team now has enough data to better understand the car and put ourselves in a stronger position for the next race,” said the Spaniard.

Stroll’s humorous take on Aston Martin struggles

However, the most interesting and amusing remarks, even if slightly bitter for Aston Martin fans, came from Lance Stroll, who was forced to retire after 30 laps in Japan. Balancing seriousness with humor, the Canadian reflected on his on-track battle against Fernando Alonso and the “mini private championship” the two drivers were effectively contesting. “I enjoyed the battle with Fernando for the last and second-to-last positions,” commented Stroll junior. “I overtook him and then we found ourselves in our little Aston Martin-Honda championship, fighting each other for about 30 laps. It was fun.”

Pre-planned duels for data collection

Fernando Alonso later revealed that the duel between the two had been partially “planned” before the race to provide useful data for the team: “Before the race, we agreed that perhaps our race would be a bit more solitary, and that if both cars ran together, it could also be a useful opportunity to collect data in terms of energy management and different engine mappings, so it was quite fun,” revealed the #14. “Unfortunately, [Lance] had to retire his car, and we missed the second part of the fun.”

As Aston Martin heads toward the Miami Grand Prix, the focus remains firmly on reliability. While laughing about fighting for the final positions provides some levity, the pressure is mounting on the technical alliance to move the “Aston Martin-Honda championship” much further up the grid. For now, every mile completed is a victory in a season that has started on the back foot.