On Track
The new season is underway with the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Fernando will start the Bahrain Grand Prix from sixth place on Saturday, with Lance in 12th, after a highly competitive Qualifying on Friday night at Bahrain International Circuit to set the grid for the opening Grand Prix of the 2024 Formula One campaign.
Friday’s session provided the first opportunity to understanding the true competitive order, with Fernando making Q3 and Lance narrowly missing out on joining him in the final part of Qualifying by less than a tenth of a second.
Friday round-up and reaction
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A very competitive first Qualifying session of 2024 ends with the top six drivers separated by just over three-and-a-half tenths, with Fernando inside that group.
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Fernando and the team complete just one flying run in Q3, taking advantage of a quiet track and a fresh set of Soft tyres to post a lap time good enough to secure a P6 grid slot for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
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Lance narrowly misses out on Q3 by just 0.078s and will start tomorrow’s race in 12th, underlining the close-fought nature of the session.
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The team has continued to hone and tweak the setup of the AMR24, gradually unlocking pace over the course of Friday’s running.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Qualifying
“The AMR24 felt good in Qualifying – a reflection of the work we put in over testing to configure the set up.
“I had a strong flying lap in Q1 and was happy with my pace, but then got caught in some traffic at Turn 13 in my final Q2 run. That can be the difference between progressing [into Q3] or not when it’s a such a tight field and every tenth matters.
“Such a close pack should make for interesting race tomorrow; I’ll do my best to get a good start and we’ll go from there.”
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Qualifying
“It was a nice surprise tonight in qualifying to finish sixth and a very good way to start the new season. We were cautious heading into the session, but we found ourselves competitive and in the end we were only a tenth away from the Ferraris in Q3.
“The car felt more connected this weekend and our fine tuning was a real positive. I think it will be very close tomorrow in the race and the fine margins between us all means how we manage everything will be key. Let’s see what we can do, but I’m confident heading into the race.”
Mike Krack | Team Principal
“A well-executed Qualifying session sets us up nicely for a strong race where we can compete for points.
“Our Qualifying laps were clean and tidy, and we saw just how close all the teams are this year in terms of single-lap performance. You have to really get everything right in these circumstances because every tenth of a second matters.
“Our focus over the winter has been to close the gap to the front and the early indications are encouraging, but it’s only the first Qualifying session of the year and we need to see how things unfold in the race. We will finally get the answers tomorrow on race performance: we’ve done our homework and have prepared well over the last couple of weeks, so let’s see what we can do.”
Next up
It’s time to go racing for the first time in 2024. The Bahrain Grand Prix begins at 15:00 GMT with both Lance and Fernando seeking to begin the campaign on the front foot with a finish inside the points.
Thursday
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First day of Official Free Practice in 2024 focused on building on the learnings of pre-season testing and refining the setup of the AMR24.
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Both Lance and Fernando only used the Medium compound tyre during FP1, with many teams also preferring to save their Soft and Hard allocations for later in the weekend. Fernando was fastest on the Medium tyres in FP1.
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FP2 run plan included Qualifying simulations and long runs to assess race pace ahead of Saturday’s Grand Prix, and the team made setup changes to further dial the car in to the Bahrain International Circuit.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Free Practice
“Overall, it’s been a solid day here in Bahrain. I think we made a step in FP2, the car felt good with the setup changes we made.
“I haven’t looked fully into the long run pace yet but the car felt pretty good, so that’s positive.
“Obviously, it’s still early days and we don’t know what others were doing with their fuel loads in the session. We’ll know a lot more after Qualifying and the Grand Prix.”
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Free Practice
“We focused on our programme today and are happy with the work we’ve done.
“We used Medium tyres during FP1 and then focused our attention more towards the Softs in FP2. We learnt more about the car whilst making some positive setup changes that we’re happy with.
“It’s important not to read too much into the timesheets at this stage because of a number of different factors and variables, but I’m feeling positive and looking forward to the first Qualifying of the season.”
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