The Formula One paddock has made its final stop before the summer shutdown at historic Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix. Read on for Lance and Fernando's thoughts following the chequered flag.
Our team enters the summer break with four more world championship points on the board after Fernando classified for the Belgian Grand Prix in eighth. Lance battled hard under the Spa sunshine to climb from P15 to P11.
Sunday round-up and reaction
Warm sunshine greeted the drivers in Spa on Sunday, in stark contrast to Saturday's running which had been damp and murky.
Fernando started the race in P8, with Lance in P15. Both drivers got away cleanly, using the Medium tyre for their opening stint.
Lance pitted on lap 12, with Fernando making his stop a lap later. Both our drivers then went to the end of the race on the Hard tyre, contending well with a combination of high track temperature and a freshly laid, grippier surface to execute a one-stop strategy.
Lance picked up places via solid pace and strategy, finishing just outside of the top 10.
Fernando secured four important championship points, crossing the line in ninth place but classifying in eighth after race winner George Russell was disqualified for an underweight car.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Race
"It became clear during the race that the tyre degradation was lower than expected, so we elected to go for the one-stop strategy. We were running in P10 a few laps from the end of the race, but by that point I was struggling with the tyres and didn't have the speed to hold position. We were missing the pace we needed to fight for more today. As a team, I think we still have a lot of work to do to do catch back up to the top four teams."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Race
"I am pleased with eighth position today and four points after a hard-fought race. We had a few different strategies planned for today. We extended the first stint on the Mediums and then on the Hard tyres we managed the pace quite well and had decent tyre degradation.
"We thought there might be a chance of a Safety Car and when there wasn't we thought why not extend and remain on a one-stop strategy. This decision paid off and we managed to score some points.
"I am looking forward to a short break now and some time to recharge. We will continue fighting and we have some more work to do to improve for the second half of the season."
Mike Krack | Team Principal
"Four points following George Russell's disqualification and via a one-stop strategy for Fernando and the team was the best we could get today in Spa. We managed to make the one-stop strategy work for both drivers.
"Lance drove well but we weren't able to get him into a points-scoring position. The strategy worked together with the pit stops today and we've secured a small reward.
"We are moving in the right direction going into the summer break but there is still a lot to improve on in the second half of the season. Thank you to the entire team at the track and back at Silverstone who deserve a well-earned rest and then to come back fully recharged for Zandvoort with lots of opportunities ahead."
Next up
F1 takes its annual summer break after 14 rounds of this record-breaking season. The championship returns for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, 23-25 August.
Saturday
It was a soaking wet day in Spa, with both Free Practice 3 and Qualifying hit by damp conditions.
An off for Lance in the final practice session of the weekend caused a red flag, with very little running taking place as the heavens opened.
Both Lance and Fernando's mechanics put in a monumental effort to repair Lance's car in time for Qualifying, doing a great job to have his AMR24 ready for the session start.
By the time Qualifying began the rain had abated considerably, but track conditions remained wet throughout the hour's running meaning only the Intermediate tyre was used by our drivers.
Fernando made it through to Q3 and posted the ninth-fastest time, with Lance finishing the session in 15th. Fernando will move up one spot for Sunday's starting grid, thanks to a 10-place penalty applied to Max Verstappen for an Internal Combustion Engine change.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Qualifying
"Firstly, I want to thank the team in the garage for the repair work they did to fix my car after FP3. We had to change the front corner and floor due to damage as well as the power unit and gearbox because of the heavy impact, so they did a great job working super quickly to get me back on track in time for Qualifying.
“It was a tough day out there. I struggled in Qualifying with the grip and balance of the car; it’s hard to really push when you don’t have that confidence. We’ll work through everything tonight to see if there’s any improvements we can make ahead of the race. This is a track that offers good overtaking opportunities, so we’ll be pushing hard for points."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Qualifying
"I am happy with ninth position in Qualifying today, which will become eighth with Max Verstappen's grid penalty, and I think it was probably the maximum we could achieve. I wasn’t feeling totally comfortable in all of the Free Practice sessions this weekend, so I wasn’t sure what to expect heading into Qualifying.
"The car felt good and I had confidence in these mixed weather conditions. We go into the unknown in tomorrow’s race with less knowledge of the tyre degradation and with the new asphalt too, so that will make things interesting. We have a lot of the dry tyres available, so hopefully we can push and fight for some points."
Mike Krack | Team Principal
"Spa is always a challenge especially with inclement weather conditions. Lance got caught out with some aquaplaning in FP3 and that gave the team a tough job to repair the car for Qualifying. A heroic effort, with both car crews working together, ensured that Lance was able to make it through to Q2 and P15.
"Fernando managed the conditions in Q3 to line up P8 for the race. Tomorrow we expect it will be a dry race and we will be aiming to maximise the points. Spa is frequently unpredictable so we will be fighting right to the chequered flag."
Friday
Lance and Fernando used all three dry Pirelli compounds across the two practice sessions, familiarising themselves with the resurfaced areas of the track.
The team sought to learn more about the updates that were applied to the AMR24 in Hungary.
Dry running could prove invaluable ahead of Sunday's Grand Prix, with rain forecast for Qualifying on Saturday before warmer conditions are predicted for the race.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Free Practice
"It's always nice coming back to Spa, it's a great track and a lot of fun to drive around here.
"We got a lot of laps in over the two sessions. We tried a few different things on the car and we'll learn a lot from that.
"Tomorrow looks set to be wet so that brings its own challenges and we'll work hard to try and take advantage of any unpredictability."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Free Practice
"We got a lot of laps in today so we'll analyse the data tonight and see what we can learn.
"Rain is possible tomorrow for Qualifying so we'll have to be sharp with the decisions we make if we do get changeable conditions.
"We'll work hard tonight to work out the best car setup for what lies ahead this weekend."
This is no ordinary Spa breakThis is no ordinary Spa break
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