2024 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix Highlights

The team is in China for the fifth round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship. Get the latest thoughts from Lance and Fernando following the 2024 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.

In Aston Martin’s debut 2024 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso finished P7 after starting the race from the second row of the grid, while Lance Stroll classified P15.

The team is heading to the Miami Grand Prix weekend, which takes place between May 3rd and May 5th.

Fernando Alonso

We didn’t quite have the pace today, and it was a tricky race with many things happening. Despite this, scoring some points and getting a bonus was also necessary to get the fastest lap. We made a good start and moved up to second, and for a moment, I thought it would be nice to lead the race for a lap, but we couldn’t make that happen. A few Safety Cars changed the strategy a bit, and we didn’t have any more Hard tyres available, so we switched to the Soft compound. Overall, it was a good race, but we have some work to do to improve our Sunday pace and match what we can do in Qualifying.

Lance Stroll

We were on for a good result today. The Soft tyres had performed well at the start of the race, and I made a couple of crucial overtakes to climb into the points. We timed our stop well under the VSC, and I think the ninth place was on the cards. Then, when the safety car came in, there was a chain reaction, and all the cars ahead suddenly slowed. I didn’t have enough time to react and avoid contact with Daniel [Ricciardo]. It’s frustrating because I got the penalty, but the incident was caused by someone at the front of the pack breaking suddenly. We ran last after the front wing change, which meant our race was over. It’s a shame to lose out on the points, but we’ll regroup ahead of another Sprint weekend in Miami.

Mike Krack, Team Principal:

Seven hard-earned points today after an eventful Chinese Grand Prix weekend. The extended Safety Car periods compromised Fernando’s three-stop race, negating the Soft tyres’ full benefit. Fernando’s recovery in the final laps, using new Medium tyres, provided plenty of entertainment and brought him back to P7. We also picked up a point for the fastest lap. It was a reasonable damage limitation. The incident under the Safety Car undid Lance’s strong race: we need to analyse what happened comprehensively, but it was a chain reaction caused by cars ahead. He was running well in the points, was on the best tyre strategy, and was set to score good points. We will regroup ahead of another Sprint weekend in Miami.

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