Lawrence Stroll’s ‘Unhappiness’ Triggers a Wave of “Self-Criticism” Within Aston Martin

Formula 1 rewards those who put in the effort to succeed. But if it finds them slacking off mid-season, they best believe they’re in for a rude awakening! Don’t believe us? Just ask Lawrence Stroll and Aston Martin! While the rebranded outfit left its mark as the second-fastest car after the season opener, they have failed to keep up with the front-runners in the development race!

When Lawrence Stroll signed Fernando Alonso, there was a mutual understanding that if the Spaniard was given the right car, he would waste no time in placing it on the podium. After all, Fernando Alonso has scored seven podiums this year, just one less than Sergio Perez, who no doubt has the fastest car on the grid alongside Max Verstappen. However, the Spaniard’s last podium came at the Dutch Grand Prix, after which the team entered a free-fall in the constructor’s standings. With Lawrence Stroll voicing his unhappiness with the team’s performance, the stakes are through the roof for the engineers back at Silverstone!

Aston Martin believes pressure from Lawrence Stroll has built a “healthy atmosphere”

The tensions have been rising at Aston Martin ever since they lost out to Mclaren in the constructor’s standings. Adding to their troubles were rumors that flooded the paddock after the Mexican GP. A credible source had hinted at Fernando Alonso potentially making a move to Red Bull, or worse, dropping the ‘long-term’ project sooner than anyone would have expected. While the Spaniard has responded sternly to the rumors, denying any talks with Red Bull, it doesn’t change the bigger problem at hand.

Aston Martin TP, Mike Krack, had shared earlier that “Lawrence is not happy. But we’re not happy either. Nobody is happy.” With the mood at Aston Martin reaching an all-time low after the Mexican GP double DNF, the pressure was on for the team to pick up the pace.

However, the team has found a way to prevent Lawrence Stroll from unleashing his wrath. Former F1 driver and Aston Martin ambassador, Pedo de la Rosa, was quoted in a tweet by DAZN, “There is self-criticism, a healthy atmosphere, the desire for this to start now and show what we are capable of. ” The Mexican GP will be a tough setback to overcome. Alonso started down in the thirteenth, and his race kept unfolding for the worse until he finally had to retire on the 47th lap after running over debris.

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With Mclaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari all looking to make up on lost points, the Silverstone outfit is hoping Alonso’s love for Interlagos helps the team bag in some valuable points at the Brazilian GP.

Fernando Alonso puts Aston Martin back on track after Free Practice 1

With the team deciding to use the pressure to their advantage, they arrived in Brazil looking for an opportunity to make up for past mistakes. Ahead of the Sao Paulo weekend, The Spaniard looked optimistic, disregarding the Mexican GP nightmare. He told formula1.com, “I’m confident we can have a good weekend. I think, obviously, it looks disappointing in the last two but three races ago in Qatar I started P4 and finished P6, so I tend to think that the last two events were not normal and we’ll go back to a top-10 performance here.”

It’s safe to say Fernando Alonso’s confidence in the team paid off after Free Practice 1. Ferrari topped the timing sheet with Carlos Sainz in P1. On the other hand, Alonso finished the session 11th on the grid two-tenths ahead of Verstappen and trailing Sainz by 0.8 seconds.

Although the position itself is outside the top 10, it’s the tire compound choice that tells a bigger story. Alonso was one of the few drivers on the grid who only used the hard compound during practice, opting to keep a higher stock of soft and medium compound tires for the race. When we compare Alonso’s timings to some of the others on the same compound, The Spaniard was ahead of Verstappen, Perez, Norris, and Piastri, in that order.

Although it’s only one practice session, this is crucial on a sprint weekend because the set-ups are final. Red Bull and McLaren could have been focusing on tire degradation and race pace, but it does not take away from a solid outing from Alonso.

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While being outside the top ten in free practice is far from the form Aston Martin showed at the beginning of the season, after a rough few races, the team is desperate to pull their socks up. Will Alonso continue his momentum throughout the weekend?