The final round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship has concluded in Abu Dhabi. Get the thoughts of Lance and Fernando following the last race of the year.
The team rounded off the 2024 Formula One season on a positive note, with points secured in Abu Dhabi as Fernando finished in ninth, whilst Lance was classified in 14th.
Sunday round-up and reaction
Both drivers made good starts during a chaotic opening to Sunday's race, with several incidents through the field and a Virtual Safety Car to contend with.
Lance and Fernando both utilised two-stop strategies in order to negate tyre wear and aid our race pace.
Out of position drivers such as Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton would overtake during the Grand Prix, as they progressed through the pack.
Fernando secured two points - a week after finishing inside the top ten in Qatar - as he took ninth place.
Lance fought hard in traffic but unfortunately finished outside the points.
Team finishes P5 in the Constructors' championship.
Elsewhere, Driver Squad member Jak Crawford finished in fifth in the F2 Drivers' standings, whilst F1 Academy driver Tina Hausmann secured her best result of the season in Race Three in Abu Dhabi as she claimed fourth place.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Race
"I had a good start to the race and made up four positions on the opening lap, but the car didn't have the performance to fight for much more today.
"After the pit stops, we just didn't have the pace to climb all the way back through the traffic into the points, but we made a few positions back passing [Jack] Doohan and [Yuki] Tsunoda.
"This wasn't the season we were hoping for, but we will be pushing hard to come back stronger next season. Thanks to the team for all their hard work over a challenging year."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Race
"It's been a positive end to the season for us with two races finishing in the points in Qatar and now here in Abu Dhabi. We had to execute a perfect race and we capitalised on some mistakes by our rivals around us.
"I'm looking forward to taking a break over the winter after the longest season in the sport's history. We can reset and learn from all of the difficulties and apply them to next season. We have some great new additions to welcome to the team in 2025 and I'm excited for what's to come."
Mike Krack | Team Principal
"A long season comes to an end in Abu Dhabi. We have finished P5 in the Constructors' championship. There are still positives to take from this year, especially as the midfield battle has been so close.
"Today we come away with a couple of hard-earned points for Fernando - a little reward for all the effort from everyone at Silverstone and trackside in Abu Dhabi. Lance battled well but didn't have the benefit of free air that Fernando did and so had the more difficult job of navigating traffic and managing tyres. He came out on top following a decisive move on Yuki [Tsunoda] towards the end of the race.
"Congratulations to McLaren on its Constructors' championship – they've had an incredible season. I want to thank our drivers, our team trackside and back at the AMR Technology Campus. Together with our fantastic partners, colleagues, and importantly our fans you are what drives Aston Martin Aramco forward and it is a privilege to be a part of this great team."
Next up
For some of the team, the F1 year isn't quite finished. Felipe Drugovich and Jak Crawford will participate in the post-season test on Tuesday at Yas Marina Circuit, as we make our final on-track outing of 2024.
Saturday
Both drivers safely navigated Q1 with tight margins separating those that progressed to Q2 from those that were eliminated, setting the tone for the rest of the entire session: Q3 would see eight of the ten teams represented.
High track evolution was also a factor to contend with, as the track gripped up over the course of the hour.
Lance was eliminated in the second section on used tyres. Because of our pace going into the session, the team opted to run three sets of new Softs in Q1, meaning he only had a used set available for Q2.
Fernando will start on the fourth row tomorrow. The team made some setup tweaks between FP3 and Qualifying to unlock more performance from the AMR24, whilst the cooler conditions compared to earlier in the day were also favourable for our car.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Qualifying
"Based on our pace so far this weekend, we chose to run three sets of new Soft tyres in Q1. In hindsight, we could have got through with two sets because the car's performance seemed to improve in the cooler temperatures.
"It meant that we didn't have the tyres we needed in Q2, so I was on a used set. It can easily go the other way though. We tend to be more competitive on Saturday than Sunday, but we'll see what the last race of the year brings tomorrow."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Qualifying
"We seemed to find the right window with the car in Qualifying and I am happy to start in eighth position tomorrow.
"The car has been quite disconnected this weekend, and so we made some setup changes overnight. We were still a little pessimistic after FP3 and so we made some more changes to the car ahead of Qualifying.
"The car felt much better tonight and I managed to put in some good laps to progress to Q3. We will try our best to enjoy the final race of the season tomorrow and hopefully score some more points."
Mike Krack | Team Principal
"One final qualifying session for 2024 and like most of this year it has been incredibly competitive one here in Abu Dhabi. Both drivers optimised the package and the cooler evening conditions so it has been a positive Saturday for Aston Martin Aramco.
"Lance was very quick on the used tyres, having run three sets of Softs in Q1, on his last run in Q2 but just ran out of rubber in the last sector. He'll be able to race from P13.
"Fernando drove well to get through to Q3. Eight of the ten teams were represented in Q3 showing how extremely close this season has been. Fernando will line up in P8 and thanked everyone for making the improvements to the AMR24 overnight. It will be a long, hard race tomorrow but we will be aiming to score solid points with both cars and reward the team and our fans."
Next up
The 2024 season finale. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix starts at 13:00 GMT.
Friday
Felipe completed 22 laps of the Yas Marina Circuit in FP1. This was his second official session of the year, following on from participating in Mexico City, fulfilling the FIA's requirement for all teams to run a rookie in two FP1 sessions throughout the season.
Of the six rookies to run in the session, Felipe recorded the fastest time, and will return to the cockpit on Tuesday for F1's post-season test.
Both cars ran aero rakes in FP1 to gather data, and also tested several other components throughout the session with one eye on car development for 2025.
The focus in FP2 was to continue gathering data and optimise setup, with it providing the closest conditions to those expected in Qualifying and the Grand Prix of the three practice sessions.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Free Practice
"We tried a few different things on the car in FP2 as we look to find the right setup for the rest of the weekend.
"It's too early to draw many conclusions from today's running, so we'll study the data tonight and make improvements where we can to give ourselves the best chance in Qualifying tomorrow.
"It looks like the midfield will be tightly packed so hopefully we can optimise as much as possible."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Free Practice
"It was a difficult day as we tried to optimise things. The car felt a little better in FP2, but we still have some work to do overnight to find the best setup going into Qualifying. It's looking like it's going to be a difficult to fight for the points, but we will do our best tomorrow."
#34 | Felipe Drugovich | Free Practice
"We managed to test everything we wanted to and try a few things with the objective of potentially applying them to next year's car.
"Towards the end of the session I did some laps on the Soft tyre so I could push and have a bit of fun. I was pleased with my fastest lap and I enjoyed driving the AMR24. It's always nice to classify as the fastest rookie as well."
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