On Thursday evening in Jeddah, as soon as the Spaniard took the lead on the timing screens, it was rumored that the Aston Martins were specifically prepared for this occasion. After all, they are racing on the home turf of their title sponsor, Aramco. Therefore, having a Green car at the top of the timing screens gives them the advantage to boast during the post-session dinners and parties on Thursday. It’s a clever PR move!
Alonso’s fastest lap time of 1:28.827s was 0.23s quicker than George Russell in the Mercedes, who came in second, and Max Verstappen, the winner of the Bahrain Grand Prix, who was a tenth of a second behind in third place with his Red Bull.
The spotlight belonged to Alonso as his teammate, Stroll, was half a second slower than the experienced Spaniard on the high-speed Jeddah Circuit in the seemingly impressive AMR24. Only time will tell if it was a true representation of their performance, but for now, Alonso deserves the recognition as the oldest driver on the grid.
Perhaps the presence of Bob Bell, who was part of Alonso’s team during the successful years at Renault in 2005-2006, also played a role in his impressive performance. Alonso commented after the session, “Driving here is always a lot of fun. It’s a challenging circuit with high-speed sections. We had a positive day, showing good pace in both sessions and on different tire compounds.”
“However, it’s important to remember that it’s only Free Practice and there are still many unknowns regarding the programs other teams were running today. We will analyze the data tonight and aim to build on this solid start to the weekend as we approach Qualifying,” added Alonso, who will be making his 380th Grand Prix start on Saturday.
Despite being slower than his teammate, Stroll managed to secure a respectable sixth place, indicating that both Aston Martin cars have the potential to reach Q3 in Friday evening’s Qualifying session.
Reflecting on his performance, Stroll said, “I felt comfortable in the car today. It’s always nice to be the fastest in any session, but we shouldn’t get carried away as it’s only Free Practice. We need to stay focused on ourselves and not worry too much about what the other teams have been doing in terms of engine modes and fuel loads.”
“We shouldn’t read too much into the lap times, but overall, it has been a positive day. We encountered no issues with the car, completed our program, and continued to fine-tune the setup of the AMR24 to extract more performance,” revealed Stroll.
The British squad stated in their report on Friday: “A significant portion of the team’s practice session one (FP1) was conducted using the Hard tires before switching to Softs towards the end of the session. In FP2, they gained experience with the Medium tires before transitioning to Softs for Qualifying simulations. Given that the air temperature reached approximately 30°C and the track temperature exceeded 40°C, it is unlikely that FP1 accurately reflects the conditions that will be encountered during Qualifying and the race, which will take place after sunset. Therefore, the data collected from FP2 holds even greater significance. As part of the team’s ongoing development program for the season, the AMR24 car now incorporates a new rear wing specifically designed for this circuit, as well as new front brake ducts.”
Aston Martin will be aiming for a better performance than the ninth and tenth positions achieved by Alonso and Stroll, respectively, in Bahrain. The first day of practice in Jeddah has generated positive attention for the ‘home’ team. Only time will reveal whether this success translates into competitive qualifying pace and race pace when it truly matters.