09/03/2024
NEWS STORY
Fernando Alonso: "I'm very happy with finishing fifth in today's race. I think finishing in front of one McLaren, one Ferrari and both Mercedes is a great result for the team and probably around the maximum we can achieve at the moment.
It was intense from start to finish and I had George [Russell] so close behind for most of the race. We went into the unknown a little bit with over 40 laps on the Hard set of tyres but we managed it all well and were able to make the one-stop strategy work. We will keep chasing for more performance and focus on the long term as it's a very long season ahead."
Lance Stroll: "A disappointing way to conclude a good weekend. I'd been pushing really hard in those opening laps - the cars around us were definitely faster and the tyres were already struggling. I was trying to build a gap and just clipped the wall. There are positives to take away, the team has scored points in both races and we feel there's more pace to unlock in the car. I'm already looking ahead to Australia - it's a race and a country that I really enjoy and I'm sure we can pick up the momentum again."
Mike Krack, Team Principal: "A strong drive from Fernando and 10 points for the team. Both drivers were under a lot of pressure at the start and had to push very hard for position. Unfortunately, a small mistake from Lance came with a high price. This is an unforgiving street circuit and all that matters in such situations is Lance is OK. A big thank-you to everyone in the team for their hard efforts - it has been a busy three weeks in the Middle East. Overall, we have made a positive start, have lots of data to take back to Silverstone, and are already focusing on the next race."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Jeddah here.