The team is in Austria for round 11 of the 2024 Formula One World Championship. Get the latest thoughts from Lance and Fernando following the Austrian Grand Prix.
Following a difficult weekend, Lance finished the Austrian Grand Prix in P13, while Fernando classified in P18.
Sunday round-up and reaction
Fernando began the Austrian Grand Prix in P15 while Lance started P17. Both opted to begin the Grand Prix on the Medium compound tyre.
Fernando was the first to make a pitstop for another set of Mediums, with Lance staying out longer. Both made their second pitstop later in the race for Hard tyres.
In the closing laps Fernando made a third pitstop to swap to the Soft tyre and set the fastest lap of the race.
Lance finished the race in P13 and Fernando in P18.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Race
"I got caught up in some contact on the opening lap of the race but managed to avoid damage. From that point on, my afternoon was mainly about managing tyres to make a two-stop strategy work. I made a few overtakes, but we were lacking the pace to make much impact to our finishing positions. It's been a difficult weekend; we're in a run of races that don't suit our car, so there's a lot of work to do."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Race
"It was a tough day for us as we expected. We didn't have the pace, so we were trying different strategies to mix it up. Then we had contact with Zhou [Guanyu] when I locked up going into Turn 3. The penalty didn't really change our result because we were already out of the points. We have our home race next week in Silverstone and the team is doing everything possible to improve the situation."
Mike Krack | Team Principal
"Today's result is a reflection of our car pace this weekend. We did not give our drivers a car to compete for points. We knew this run of races would be challenging but we need to focus on the future and get through this phase. Lance and Fernando battled for every place. Next weekend is our home race at Silverstone in front of our fans and colleagues. We need to get our heads down and improve, quickly."
Next up
We make our way to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, which takes place 5-7 July.
Saturday
Lance started the Sprint in P12 and made up two positions in the early stages. He finished P10, narrowly missing out on points. Meanwhile Fernando finished P16.
Fernando began in P13 and finished the Sprint in P16. However, was promoted to P15 in the final classification after a post-Sprint penalty for Hulkenberg.
In the first Qualifying segment, Lance missed out on progressing to Q2. He will start the Austrian Grand Prix in P17.
Fernando will also start the Grand Prix outside of the top 10 after finishing Q2 in P15.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Sprint & Qualifying
"It's an incredibly tight field out there but, unfortunately, we seem to be on the back foot. Yesterday we managed to out-qualify the car, but today we've struggled in both the Sprint and this afternoon's Qualifying session. Realistically, tomorrow's going to be a tough day."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Sprint & Qualifying
"We were expecting a difficult Qualifying session here in Austria and unfortunately fifteenth position was the best we could achieve today. We made some changes to the car between the Sprint Race and Qualifying, and huge credit to the team who worked flat-out to get everything ready. However, we didn't get much reward for this hard work. Let's see what we can do tomorrow, we will stay focused and try our best to achieve the maximum result possible."
Mike Krack | Team Principal
"A challenging Sprint and Qualifying session today. This is a phase of the season we knew would be difficult and Silverstone is likely to be similar. Lance and Fernando gave it everything today, but we are not giving them the right tools they need to compete for the point-scoring positions. Tomorrow is going to be a long race, but we will focus on being there to take any favourable opportunities."
Next up
The Austrian Grand Prix takes place on Sunday at 14:00 BST.
Friday
In the first session of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, both drivers finished in the top 10 after final runs on Soft tyres.
The weekend's only Free Practice session allowed us to gather information and understand the car's setup ahead of the Sprint sessions.
Both drivers progressed into SQ2, with Lance finishing SQ1 in P5.
After heading out on track late in the session, Lance classified P12 in SQ2 while Fernando placed P13.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Free Practice & Sprint Qualifying
"We still have some work to do, but the car had a bit more pace today. I was pushing hard out there to try and get the most out of the lap, but just lost it slightly in the final corner.
"I think we'd have squeezed into SQ3 without that. We'll do our homework tonight and see how we go in the Sprint tomorrow."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Free Practice & Sprint Qualifying
"It was very tight out there as we expected. I was quite happy with my laps in Sprint Qualifying and I felt we extracted the maximum lap-time in both SQ1 and SQ2.
"Sadly, it wasn't enough to make it into SQ3 today. I think it will be very difficult to score any points tomorrow, but we will take as much information from the Sprint race as possible."
Sprinting in SpielbergSprinting in Spielberg
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