Fernando Alonso Back Injury Aston Martin Hungary
Aston Martin Shows Promising Pace in Practice, But Questions Remain
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Aston Martin has kicked off the race weekend with a strong showing in practice, leaving drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll cautiously optimistic about their potential. While the team appears to have found a good baseline,both drivers highlighted areas for advancement as they look to fine-tune the AMR24 for qualifying and the race.
alonso Optimistic despite Balance Concerns
Fernando Alonso, despite missing the opening Free Practice session, expressed satisfaction with the car’s performance in FP2.”FP2 felt good,” he stated, though he admitted the car’s balance isn’t quite were he’d ideally like it. “There’s a bit of understeer mid-corner, and I struggled to rotate the car on low speed,” Alonso explained, categorizing these as typical challenges for a first practice session.
The Spanish veteran is confident that the team can make significant progress overnight. “Let’s see what we can change overnight,” he said.”A couple of tests that the guys did in FP1, we need to review the data and put together the fastest car for tomorrow.” This proactive approach underscores Aston Martin’s commitment to continuous improvement throughout the weekend.
Stroll Cautious on True Pace
Lance Stroll, who finished fourth and was less than a tenth behind Charles Leclerc in third, remained tight-lipped about Aston Martin’s true standing in the competitive order. “The timesheets on Friday, it’s always hard to know what everyone is doing with fuel loads and all that,” Stroll commented. However, he was pleased with his own session, noting, “the car felt good and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow. It felt good today – a good balance.”
Stroll’s measured response suggests that while the initial pace is encouraging, the team is not getting ahead of themselves, understanding the nuances of Friday practice data.
Drugovich Gets Unexpected Seat Time
Felipe Drugovich found himself in the AMR24 for an extended period due to a “last minute” call, leading to a more demanding day than anticipated. The surprise nature of his outing meant less time for simulator work and specific readiness. “I just got given the targets and off we went, and I think it was a pretty good session,” Drugovich reported.
He detailed his experience, highlighting the smooth running and data collection. “I think everything was quite smooth. We got the data done that we needed. I even got a soft tire run, which is always nice,” he said. Despite a slightly messy lap affected by traffic and a significant lock-up into Turn 1, Drugovich remained positive about the opportunity. “My lap was a bit messy, full of traffic, and then after I had a massive lock-up into Turn 1 in the second half, which was probably not ideal, but I needed to try to get some fun out of it, so it was all good, no problem with that.” His valuable track time will undoubtedly contribute to the team’s understanding of the car’s performance envelope.