The Canadian Grand Prix was a welcome return to form for Aston Martin, and one hailed by Fernando Alonso who led Team Silverstone’s double-points finish.
After a frustrating stretch that included a disappointing P19 finish in Imola and a Q1 exit in Monaco, Alonso turned around his fortunes in Montreal.
The ever-changing weather conditions, including two Safety Car periods, made the race a real test of skill and adaptability which Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll passed with remarkable poise as they concluded their day P6 and P7 in standings.
“Yeah, fantastic race for the team,” Alonso enthused after his wet and wild day at the races.
“Obviously scoring with both cars is always the target, and sixth and seventh is a good number of points. Extremely difficult race with the conditions, [for the] majority of the race the track was just two metres wide.
“You cannot put a tyre outside of that dry line, so that is very, very stressful. Congratulations to everybody, because it was, I think a difficult race in the cockpit.”
For now, the fight for the top four spots is clearly a Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes rumble.
But Aston Martin showed some real promise in Montreal, and Alonso is hopeful the strong performance was more than just a Canadian quirk.
Asked whether Aston’s resurgence was a sign of a genuine breakthrough with their car, or if the latter was just a good match for the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Alonso reckoned it was “a combination of the two”.
©AstonMartin
“We are happier with the car now, we understood a few things and I think we are more competitive,” he added.
“But, at the same time, we had in the calendar Montreal as one of the best tracks for us, for our package.
“[There is a] question mark [over] what is going to happen in Barcelona, but I know the team is working flat-out to bring new parts to the next race, and hopefully we keep this level of competitiveness.”
Stroll’s top-ten finish was rightfully a crowd-pleaser for the local hero, and the Canadian’s best result year-to-date.
He agreed with Alonso, crediting the AMR24 for being a good fit for the Montreal track and giving them a chance to shine.
“I think the track really suited us,” said the 25-year-old. “We knew that coming into the weekend that this would be a good track for us, but it’s good that we capitalised on it.
“Sixth and seventh [is] a lot of points for the team. We have to take advantage when we’re in a points-scoring position and the car’s competitive, and today we did that.”
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