14/09/2024
NEWS STORY
Fernando Alonso: "It was an exciting Qualifying session for us with a few surprises.
"The lap here in Baku is very high adrenaline and you take a huge level of risk. We just made it through in Q1 and I was a little pessimistic heading into the next session. The car felt better in Q2 and the lap was very rewarding. In the end I think we have to be quite pleased with eighth position for tomorrow and we'll start ahead of both Williams cars who look quite fast here. We can't be overconfident though, because we've struggled a bit in general over the course of the weekend. We'll need to be quite defensive tomorrow and see if we can score some points."
Lance Stroll: "That was a difficult session. We were off the pace and struggling both for grip and balance, so we've got more work to do to understand why that was. It's disappointing, but we'll see how we go in the race tomorrow. Hopefully some opportunities come our way."
Mike Krack, Team Principal: "As always in Baku, the margins were small and the track was evolving extremely quickly across the session. Being on track at the right time, and finding space, was not easy with several yellow flags in Q1, but we just managed to get both cars through to Q2. Fernando's laps in Q2 and Q3 were his strongest of the weekend - when it mattered - and he really maximised everything to be P8 on the grid. Lance's session was more difficult and he has not been happy with the balance of his car. We will push to make the most of tomorrow. It's one of those races where anything can happen and we will be ready to take those opportunities."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Baku here.