The final third of the 2024 Formula One season has begun in Baku, Azerbaijan, this weekend. Read the thoughts of Lance and Fernando following the chequered flag in the City of Winds.
It was mixed fortunes for the team at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as Fernando drove a strong race to secure sixth place whilst Lance had to retire the car six laps before the finish with a brake pedal issue.
Sunday round-up and reaction
Fernando and Lance were both bumped up two positions on the grid after Pierre Gasly's disqualification from Qualifying and with Lewis Hamilton starting the race from the pitlane.
Fernando maintained P7 at lights out, whilst Lance and Yuki Tsunoda made contact on the opening lap through Baku's tight opening sequence of corners.
The contact resulted in Lance needing to pit due to a puncture at the end of lap one, relegating him to the rear of the field.
Fernando made his one and only stop at the end of lap 11, covering off the Williams of Franco Colapinto.
Fernando showed good pace and managed his tyres well throughout the race, also keeping the other Williams of Alex Albon behind despite the Thai driver opting for a longer first stint than most.
Lance was forced into retirement towards the end of the Grand Prix thanks to a brake pedal issue.
A late crash between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez promoted Fernando two places into sixth, as he secured eight important points for the team.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Race
"My race was pretty much over on the first lap when [Yuki] Tsunoda and I made contact. I dived down the inside - I'm not sure if he saw me or not - but he closed the door and I had to pit with a puncture. We're all racing hard on the opening lap and these things happen, but it left us on the back foot for the rest of the race.
"With nine laps to go I started feeling an issue with the brake pedal and it was getting worse with each lap. This isn't a circuit to take any risks at, and we were well out of the points positions, so it made sense to retire the car. It's been a frustrating weekend, but I'm looking forward to Singapore."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Race
"I'm happy with the result today and we were able to captalise on some action on the final few laps to take sixth position.
"It was a little bit of a lonely race for me with nobody ahead to fight with. We were able to follow the trend around us on a one-stop strategy and we maintained the position to those chasing us behind. It was still a tough race with no time to relax.
"We executed everything well with a good strategy and pitstops, so I'm happy we've come away from this weekend in Baku with some well-earned points."
Mike Krack | Team Principal
"Leaving Baku with eight important points is a great return for our efforts this weekend. It is more than we expected coming into the weekend, but it shows there are always opportunities on this challenging street track.
"Fernando drove a very strong race, making the most of his qualifying position to run in eighth for most of the afternoon, and then gained a couple of places with the accident ahead in the final laps. Going into the race we were worried about our tyre degradation, so full credit to Fernando and the team for delivering a one-stop race, which was critical for this result.
"Lance picked up a puncture [due to contact with Yuki Tsunoda] on lap one and had to pit. That dropped him to the back of the pack and ended his chance of competing for points. Our attention now turns to Singapore next week – a similar challenge to Baku – where we will look to score more points."
Next up
A quick turnaround for the team, and another street track, as the Singapore Grand Prix takes place next weekend.
Saturday
Crossing the finish line as late as possible in Q1 was key, thanks to high track evolution in the first part of Qualifying, with both Lance and Fernando making it safely through into Q2.
Fernando produced a strong lap towards the end of Q2 to finish with the fifth-fastest time, whilst Lance ended the second part of Qualifying in 15th. However, he'll start the race in 14th after Pierre Gasly was disqualified.
Fernando secured P8 come the chequered flag, setting himself up to challenge for a points finish in tomorrow's race.
Over the course of the weekend a number of drivers have found the walls through the tight sections of circuit, so keeping things clean and taking advantage of any potential Safety Car could be key to success on Sunday.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Qualifying
"That was a difficult session. We were off the pace and struggling both for grip and balance, so we've got more work to do to understand why that was. It's disappointing, but we'll see how we go in the race tomorrow. Hopefully some opportunities come our way."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Qualifying
"It was an exciting Qualifying session for us with a few surprises. The lap here in Baku is very high adrenaline and you take a huge level of risk. We just made it through in Q1 and I was a little pessimistic heading into the next session. The car felt better in Q2 and the lap was very rewarding.
"In the end I think we have to be quite pleased with eighth position for tomorrow and we'll start ahead of both Williams cars who look quite fast here. We can't be overconfident though, because we've struggled a bit in general over the course of the weekend. We'll need to be quite defensive tomorrow and see if we can score some points."
Mike Krack | Team Principal
"As always in Baku, the margins were small and the track was evolving extremely quickly across the session. Being on track at the right time, and finding space, was not easy with several yellow flags in Q1, but we just managed to get both cars through to Q2.
"Fernando's laps in Q2 and Q3 were his strongest of the weekend – when it mattered – and he really maximised everything to be P8 on the grid. Lance's session was more difficult and he has not been happy with the balance of his car. We will push to make the most of tomorrow. It's one of those races where anything can happen and we will be ready to take those opportunities."
Next up
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Lights out is at 12:00 BST.
Friday
Three separate red flag periods were called during Free Practice One. Debris on track was the cause for the first, whilst the second and third were the result of crashes for Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari and Williams' Franco Colapinto respectively.
Despite the punctuated FP1 session, Fernando classified inside the top ten, with Lance finishing just outside.
Free Practice Two ran with fewer interruptions, as attention turned to Qualifying sims.
It was Lance's turn to finish inside the top ten in FP2, with Fernando in P12.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Free Practice
"Fernando and I ran some floor comparison tests today in FP1. We'll analyse the data from that tonight with the engineers and assess the best direction going forwards.
"We're pushing hard to extract performance from the AMR24 and we'll see what we can do overnight to set ourselves up for Qualifying tomorrow."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Free Practice
"We've picked up useful data across the two Free Practice sessions which we'll analyse with the engineers tonight.
"We tried a few different things today so we'll study that overnight and work out the best route to take with car setup ahead of Qualifying."
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