There was a lot of secrecy and many unknowns during Friday’s free practice sessions at the Imola F1 Grand Prix. Not only Aston Martin, but many teams are debuting new parts on their cars, and it is unknown exactly what each team has tested and what the real impact will be on Saturday’s qualifying.
Lance Stroll, better than Fernando Alonso
In the case of Aston Martin, it seems that the improvements are not working as expected: Lance Stroll was in charge of testing them on Friday, while Fernando Alonso drove his AMR25 with the settings they have been using throughout the season. The Canadian driver improved on the Spaniard’s times in free practice 1, which was to be expected for the team. The difference was not huge, far from it, but it is to be expected that the Oviedo driver, who will have the new parts on his car on Saturday, will be able to improve on his teammates’ times. Lance Stroll finished eleventh in free practice 1, Alonso fourteenth, with only 89 thousandths between them.
But the surprise came in free practice 2: Fernando Alonso set better times on medium tires than Lance Stroll, who tested the soft tires and did a qualifying simulation, an incomprehensible time.
The fact that the team has fitted both cars with the same tires can be interpreted in several ways: the first is that they are not entirely confident, given that the updates have not improved the car in recent years. The second is that they want to compare data to draw clearer conclusions. The track conditions and weather during the day certainly lend themselves to such a comparison, as they will have reliable data on which to base their final decision.
Things to keep in mind
The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari is one of the shortest circuits of the season, at just 4.9 km. If the grid times are already very close, the fact that it is shorter narrows the margins for the teams even further, so equality is expected to continue to reign in Saturday’s qualifying.
On the other hand, we are talking about a fast circuit with many corners, which is key for teams with good aerodynamics, and Aston Martin’s changes, flat bottom and aerodynamics could be a plus for achieving a good position on the grid for Sunday’s race.
Aston Martin’s position
Given how the championship has started for Aston Martin, miracles cannot be expected, and it seems that there will be none this weekend. The new AMR25 does not appear to have improved compared to previous races. Considering that the circuit is shorter and that times will be closer than ever, the forecasts should be better than in previous races, but Aston Martin seems doomed to continue suffering.
Knowing that Fernando Alonso is capable of squeezing a few extra tenths out of the car’s performance, making it through to Q2 seems possible, and he will be looking for another miracle to get into Q3. It is to be hoped that Fernando Alonso will be able to place the AMR25 between 14th and 12th place. Looking ahead to the race, given what we saw on Friday, it will be difficult to finish in the points if there are no incidents during the race, once again.
But looking ahead to Sunday’s race, it should also be borne in mind that, at the moment, there is a small chance of rain. It does not look like it will rain on the circuit, but it could be a significant change for the race.
It seems that Aston Martin has not been able to take a step forward, but the real battle will be in qualifying, when the tests are over and the real fight begins, at which point we will know where each team stands and where Aston Martin is.