Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
Lance Stroll was not holding back with his assessment of the upgraded Aston Martin AMR24, saying it fell short of expectations.
Aston Martin made sweeping changes to their AMR24 challenger in time for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix race weekend at Imola, a new floor, diffuser, engine cover and front wing and nose among the alterations. However, the results in qualifying were not what the team had in mind.
Lance Stroll says upgraded Aston Martin ‘not competitive enough’
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Fernando Alonso had a rough weekend at Imola, as he failed to advance past the Q1 stage. The two-time World Champion admitted that Saturday was a day filled with mishaps, stating that “everything went wrong.”
Stroll, who is set to start from P13 on the grid on Grand Prix Sunday, also didn’t find much joy. It’s clear that he is not particularly pleased with the recent additions to his Aston Martin.
Stroll expressed to the media, including PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher, that the weekend did not turn out as we had hoped despite the upgrades we had brought.
“Not competitive enough.”
When asked about the reason behind the upgrades not meeting his expectations, Stroll responded by saying, “I believe everything was functioning properly; it simply did not meet the desired level.”
“At present, while other teams appear to be highly competitive, we are lacking the necessary level of competitiveness.”
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In Miami, McLaren’s upgraded MCL38 had an immediate impact, resulting in Lando Norris securing his first-ever Formula 1 victory. Meanwhile, Red Bull and Ferrari, aiming to retaliate, introduced noteworthy upgrades at Imola, joining Aston Martin in their pursuit of improvement.
According to Stroll, Aston Martin will need to significantly step up their game in order to compete with these teams.
When asked about his opinion on the upgraded AMR24, Stroll responded by saying, “I would say it feels identical to how it has felt throughout the entire year.”
As mentioned before, we have introduced certain enhancements that may have provided some assistance, but I believe we require a significant amount of additional improvements in order to bridge the gap with the teams ahead of us on the grid.
Regarding the areas that still need improvement on the AMR24, Stroll mentioned that there is still a need for increased downforce and some adjustments to achieve better balance, which has been a consistent issue throughout the year.
Aston Martin is continuing their quest for their inaugural appearance on the F1 podium in 2024. Alonso’s fifth-place finish in Australia stands as their top achievement thus far.
Read next – Winners and losers from the 2024 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix qualifying
