For Aston Martin, the Austrian GP Sprint could have foreseen given their performance over the weekend. Lance Stroll finished ahead of his teammate Fernando Alonso, in P4 and P5 respectively. They were fighting each other for the fourth position towards the end of the race, but according to the BBC Chequered Flag podcast’s panel, Alonso wasn’t completely committed to making the move on Stroll.
Alonso started the F1 Sprint in Spielberg from P7 on the grid, a place ahead of Stroll. However, from the very get-go, it was Stroll who was on top of his teammate. He got off to a good start, made places, and found himself in the fourth position, ahead of his legendary teammate. With just a few laps to go in the 24-lap sprint race, Alonso and Stroll treated fans to some brilliant racing action, with the former seemingly trying to make a move on his Aston Martin partner.
Alonso couldn’t overtake Stroll and had to settle for P5, but it was evident that the 41-year-old wasn’t taking any risks. In several instances, he was very close to passing Stroll’s AMR-23 but appeared to pull out at the last moment. This made people wonder if Alonso was actually looking to make a move on Stroll.
Fernando Alonso wasn’t actually trying to make a move on Lance Stroll
Stroll and Alonso’s battle looked to be heated, as both drivers pushed hard till the very end to secure P4. However, Alonso didn’t actually want to overtake Stroll, who had performed better over the course of the race, according to the BBC panel. The tussle between them was more for theatrics, than for Alonso to actually make the killer move.
“He was all over the back of Stroll,” the panelist said. “Throwing his nose here and there. Driving up the outside, then pulling back. It didn’t really look like he was really committed to actually overtaking Stroll.”
“He just kind of wanted to show, ‘Yeah look I’m here, I’m fighting my teammate. He beat me on merit’”, he added.
The panelists went on to add that when Alonso really wants to overtake someone, he doesn’t wait around. The example of him making a brave move at turn 10 in Bahrain over long-time rival Lewis Hamilton was brought up.
Fernando Alonso’s take on the battle with Stroll
Alonso didn’t have anything particular to say after his battle with Lance Stroll. However, the Oviedo-born driver was impressed with Aston Martin’s pace, which allowed him to finish fifth. As reported by GP fans, he was satisfied with how things unfolded but is now wary of another difficult Sunday ahead for the Silverstone-based outfit.
Stroll too, didn’t gloat about finishing ahead of Alonso. Considering the fact that he has been bashed by fans and the media so frequently for not matching Alonso’s level, Stroll should take his result in Spielberg as a small victory.
His performance in Austria’s sprint race should come as a huge boost in confidence. Heading into the main race on Sunday, Stroll will be hoping for a similarly positive outcome.
