27/08/2023
NEWS STORY
Fernando Alonso: "It's a nice feeling to be back on the podium after a very intense race and some intense emotions.
"I think P2 and fastest lap was the maximum we could have achieved today with the heavy rain and the red flag. It was a very well executed race by our team and it means a lot in front of the passionate fans here in Zandvoort. The AMR23 responded well to everything today and I was in sync with it, it was a good feeling. I'm probably happier now than I was scoring podiums at the beginning of the year because after we struggled for podiums in July, coming back strong feels incredible. I cannot lie, I thought about passing Max [Verstappen] and if I was side by side with him I wouldn't have lifted off, but I did not have the full chance. You need some intuition sometimes in the race and there was a bit of rain so I attacked very aggressively. Now I'm looking forward to Monza."
Lance Stroll: "It wasn't the race we were hoping for today. The changing weather conditions made it very challenging to make the right strategy call and we just didn't make the right tyre decisions in the opening few laps. We'd hoped to survive the first downpour on the slick tyres, but the rain was heavier than expected and we switched to the Intermediate compound a little too late. Once the running order had stabilised, I found myself stuck in traffic and struggled to make any progress. It's disappointing as the car was performing well and I think more was possible, but that's racing sometimes. We'll learn from today's mistakes and push hard again in Monza."
Mike Krack, Team Principal: "What a race! A fantastic second place for Fernando and the team. Fernando delivered a well-judged race, survived the tricky conditions, and showed strong pace in the wet and the dry. This result will mean a huge amount to the entire team at track and back at the Campus, and shows our hard work is paying off. It means we have broken the 200-point barrier for the first time and gives us real momentum going into the final races of the year. It is a shame we did not optimise the race for Lance and the decision to remain on dry tyres in the early stages cost him a chance of scoring points."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Zandvoort here.