For the second time this year, we're in Italy for round 16 of the 2024 Formula One World Championship at Monza. Get the thoughts of Lance and Fernando from across the weekend.
Following a tough weekend at the Italian Grand Prix, the final European race of the season, Fernando and Lance finished P11 and P19 respectively.
Sunday round-up and reaction
Our drivers started the Italian Grand Prix on different tyre compounds - Fernando on the Medium and Lance on the Hard.
After a good start, Fernando made up a position on the first lap to P10. Lance was also able to make up positions sitting in P15 by Lap 7.
Fernando was first to make a pitstop on lap 13 for the Hard tyre, with Lance following at the end of the lap 20 for another set of Hards.
Fernando pitted again on lap 36, with Lance making his stop for Mediums a lap later. Lance stopped for a third time on lap 51 for the Soft compound.
At the chequered flag Fernando just missed out on the final World Championship point by a tenth of a second, finishing P11. Lance classified P19.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Race
"Today's result was more or less what we expected. We haven't had the pace to challenge all weekend, and we knew there wasn't going to be much we could do from P17. We went into the race open to a one or two-stop strategy, but elected to stop twice when we saw the levels of tyre degradation.
"We then stopped for a third time at the end to try and take the fastest lap. Ultimately, we know we're missing the performance we need, and the focus remains on trying to bring that to the car."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Race
"It was a difficult race today. We maximised the pace the best we could. I was able to push the car to its limits so I'm happy in that regard, but we did struggle with the relative pace of the car on track. We were in the points at the start of the race and were able to undercut [Alex] Albon thinking all teams would execute a two-stop race.
"It wasn't enough at the end to recover from that extra pit stop. We were only 0.2 seconds behind [Kevin] Magnussen and a second behind Albon so it is disappointing not to score any points today. We will keep pushing."
Mike Krack | Team Principal
"Looking at the cars finishing around us, it is tempting to say we could have tried a one-stop strategy, but we know our car is hard on tyres and it was not an easy call today. We saw other teams facing the same difficult decision too. Fernando was in the fight for points all afternoon and until the very last lap – chasing down Albon and Magnussen – but we just ran out of laps in the end.
"We always knew it would be tough race and we need to find more performance to compete in this very tight midfield. We will keep our heads down to come back stronger in Baku."
Next up
We're making our way to Baku for Round 17 of the 2024 Formula One World Championship at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix between 13-15 September.
Saturday
Lance and Fernando used all three Pirelli compounds across the final Free practice session.
Fernando classified P11 in FP3, while Lance concluded the session in P15.
A tricky Qualifying session saw Lance knocked out in Q1 in P17, meanwhile Fernando qualified P11.
Fernando was only 0.010 seconds away from getting through to Q3.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Qualifying
"I think we had the potential to get through to Q2 today, so it's frustrating to miss out by such small margins. I was up a couple of tenths on my final lap but the call for the yellow flag came and so I had to back out [of the lap].
"It's been tricky all weekend and we haven't quite found the pace we need, but we'll see how we go in the race tomorrow. It's a tight pack here, so we'll need luck on our side."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Qualifying
"We were heading into Qualifying feeling a little pessimistic, so all in all we have to be happy with P11. The car is struggling a bit here so to be so close to Q3 is a good sign. We are going into the unknown tomorrow and it won't be easy, but a top ten finish is still the target."
Mike Krack | Team Principal
"Today's Qualifying session was extremely close across the entire grid with very small margins proving decisive. Lance was unfortunate to come across the yellow flags at the end of Q1, while Fernando nearly squeezed through into Q3 and was only denied by a hundredth of a second.
"Let's see what we can do in the race, but we know we need a quicker car to compete in this tight midfield going forward. We will make the most of any opportunities to try and score some points tomorrow."
Friday
The two Free Practice sessions allowed our drivers to familiarise themselves with the newly resurfaced track.
Lance and Fernando both started FP1 on the Medium compound before switching to the Soft in the final 15 minutes.
Track temperatures were cooler in FP2 which meant lap times were quicker than earlier in the day.
A red flag halfway through the session put a temporary pause to run plans, but after the resumption, both of our drivers were able to make their way into the top ten.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Free Practice
"It's good to get back out on this track – it's a great circuit and I love being in Italy. We made a few changes to the car following FP1 and it felt better in FP2; I think we're moving in the right direction but there's still some work to do overnight. The resurfaced track had more grip and was less bumpy, so it was definitely kinder on the body!"
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Free Practice
"Every circuit has its own character, and racing in Monza always feels special. The track was smoother and less bumpy than last year due to the new tarmac. A lot of data has been gathered in the two sessions, so we will now analyse it and review it corner by corner to try to maximise the potential on track for the car tomorrow."
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