26/08/2023
NEWS STORY
Fernando Alonso: "It wasn't an easy Qualifying session today in the wet and the dry, so we have to be happy to qualify fifth for tomorrow's race.
"It was very intense and there was a very small margin for error with the narrow track, so it was very challenging. In these types of conditions, you have no idea what happened in the previous seven minutes you were in the garage, so it can be a little bit of a guess, but we did very well today. The upgrades seem to be working well and it has been a great job by everyone in the Campus who have been working flat-out to bring these updates this weekend."
Lance Stroll: "The car was feeling strong today, so it's frustrating to miss out on Q3 by such fine margins. On reflection, we were just a little early going out for my final run; the track was drying quickly and so the tyres weren't holding up as well by my second push lap. I think we're in a good place for tomorrow though. The AMR23 feels competitive, and I was able to push on a challenging circuit, which was good fun. We know the field is incredibly tight here and overtaking can be tough, but if we maximise our opportunities in the race then I think we can score some good points for the team."
Mike Krack, Team Principal: "It was another Qualifying session dominated by wet weather and then a drying track, but the team did a great job of managing the sessions. The car balance in these conditions was pretty good, but Lance suffered with some overheating on his final set of Intermediates. It meant he just missed out on a place in Q3 by half a tenth. The red flags created a very disruptive Q3 and Fernando lost two of his flying laps just as he was about to complete them. So, all things considered, qualifying in fifth and 11th place for tomorrow's race is a decent outcome from a challenging session. The AMR23 is working well here in the wet and the dry so we should have a competitive car to fight for strong points in race conditions too."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Zandvoort here.