On Track

3 Sep 2023

The Debrief by Aramco: Italian GP

Fernando manages to extend our points-scoring run in a demanding Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Lance and Fernando executed trouble-free races as we came away from Monza with two more points on the board, extending our points-scoring run to 16 consecutive weekends.

Fernando qualified 10th and Lance 20th on a challenging Saturday, where Lance managed his first practice laps of the weekend thanks to a fuel system issue in Free Practice Two.

With its ultra-high-speed demands, Monza isn't a track that suits the AMR23 and neither driver made inroads as they began the race on Medium compounds. Both switched to Hards as the midway point of the race approached and, at the chequered flag of a caution-free race, Fernando finished a solid ninth while Lance made up a couple of places to take P16.

There are more opportunities ahead. Attention turns to Singapore, where we aim for a more competitive weekend amid the streets of Marina Bay.

Read what Fernando, Lance and Team Principal Mike Krack said after Sunday's race at at Monza.

Sunday

F. Alonso

FL: 1:26.105

P16

L. Stroll

FL: 1:26.617

#14 Fernando Alonso

"It was a very difficult race today and it was one of the most physically challenging of the year.

"We will take many lessons from this weekend and look to be better next time. I had some hope we might be able to catch Lewis [Hamilton] when he had the penalty, but as soon as he passed Alex [Albon] I knew it would be difficult.

"Ferrari has unfortunately jumped us in the Constructors' Championship after this result, so we need to bounce back at the next race. There are still a lot of races and points left in the Championship."

#18 Lance Stroll

"The car didn’t have the pace we needed today, so it was a tough race to manage. We tried to do something slightly different with the strategy and only stopped once, but the tyres were falling off towards the end of the stint, so I wasn't able to hold position.

"It's been a difficult weekend for us, so we have some work to do before we head to Singapore in a couple of weeks."

Mike Krack, Team Principal

"Scoring a couple of points with Fernando was little consolation for a tricky weekend in Monza.

"Maybe with a few more laps we could have challenged Lando [Norris] and Alex [Albon], but there were not too many opportunities available. Lance did a good job today. He moved ahead of the Haas and Alpine drivers, but he suffered with the tyres dropping off in the final part of the race.

"We always knew that Monza would not be a particularly kind track to us and we have to take today's lessons into AMR24. We will work hard to be back in a more competitive position in Singapore."

Saturday

#14 Fernando Alonso | Free Practice & Qualifying

"It wasn’t our best Qualifying today finishing in 10th position. We still managed to make Q3 again and it means we can fight for points tomorrow.

"Today it seems we performed better in Q1 and Q2, but we struggled to match this pace in Q3 on the Softs.

"There are no points awarded for today and our strength has been on Sundays. We will hope for an unusual race tomorrow and look to capitalise on any opportunities."

FP3

1:21.711

1:22.043

P10

1:21.543

1:21.417

P10

#18 Lance Stroll | Free Practice & Qualifying

"It was a tricky session on track; I just wasn’t feeling any grip from the tyres so I couldn’t push where I needed to.

"I didn’t get a single lap yesterday during the first and second practice sessions, and while that didn’t help, I don’t think it was the cause of today’s result.

"We’ll regroup as a team this evening and look through the data to see if we can identify where things went wrong today. Tomorrow’s race will be tough – I’ve got a big job to do – but we’ll be prepared for anything that comes our way."

FP3

1:22.245

P11

1:22.860

P20

Mike Krack, Team Principal

"A tricky Qualifying session where we were missing the performance level of our expectations. We need to understand why Fernando did not manage to improve when we fitted the Soft tyres because we were not able to compete for the top positions in Q3.

"Lance struggled for grip on the Hard tyres. He missed so much track time yesterday and that compromised his preparation.

"We will need to be opportunistic tomorrow to bring Lance up the field and we will be reliant on the fortunes of others to some extent. There is still a long race ahead and we will give it everything tomorrow to try and bring home some points to minimise the damage."

Friday

#14 | Fernando Alonso | Free Practice

FP1

1:23.214

FP2

1:22.071

"It was a good day at Monza and the adrenaline was pumping. It's always nice to be back here. Very unique on a low downforce set-up. I'm happy to be back, but Lance did have a problem and we had to adapt to using just one set of tyres per session. It's the same for everybody and it will be tight tomorrow – from P6 to P16 it could be split by four tenths. We need to be sharp tomorrow."

#34 | Felipe Drugovich | Free Practice

FP1

1:24.140

P18

"I really enjoyed being back out in the AMR23 today; this car is just fantastic. I expected the stability to be slightly compromised by such a low downforce set-up, but I was pleased with how the car was handling and felt confident to push almost straight away.

"Due to the Alternative Tyre Allocation, we only had one set of tyres throughout the session, but we managed to get through the entire run plan on the Medium compound, so I'm pleased with what we accomplished.

"I spend a lot of time on the simulator helping the team with development work, so I think being back behind the wheel gives me a really good marker of how the car is developing and helps with the correlation between the two. I can definitely take what I've learned today back to Silverstone and continue to support the team's car development.

"I really appreciate the team giving me this opportunity and guiding me through the session; it's been a pleasure to work with everyone trackside again."

#18 | Lance Stroll | Free Practice

FP2

No time set

"I don't know where we stand as I haven't been able to complete a lap yet, as a fuel system issue stopped me from setting a time in FP2. The team collected some data from Felipe and Fernando, at least, so we have something to work on for tomorrow."

Mike Krack, Team Principal

"As expected, Felipe did a really solid job for the team today and did not set a foot wrong, completing 24 laps during the first practice session. He was tasked with a difficult job given the Alternative Tyre Allocation, but he made his set of Medium tyres last throughout the hour and completed his full run plan within that time.

"We're pleased with the detailed feedback he's given today; it will be helpful in guiding our set-up for the weekend."

Tom McCullough, Performance Director

"It was a tough day overall because we only ran with one car in Free Practice Two but Felipe did a great job in FP1. We got all the test runs done this morning as we adapted to the Alternative Tyre Allocation.

"The fuel system problem was a bit frustrating as Lance didn't get to do any laps in FP2. The other stoppage in FP2 didn't help either, but, once again, everyone was in the same boat.

"Luckily we got some data from Felipe and Fernando and we have something to work on tomorrow as we look to maximise Monza."

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