Over the two competitive sessions at the Azerbaijan GP, Aston Martin has fallen down the order. Fernando Alonso, usually spotted in front of the grid this season, has had to settle for P6 in Qualifying. Even Lance Stroll has been struggling to find pace in his cars. The problem? A faulty DRS.
Alonso and Stroll continue to face this massive disadvantage during a crucial weekend as the Drag Reduction System in their challengers remains faulty.
The problem was first spotted during the practice session as question marks arose around the sudden drop in Aston Martin’s performance.
What has gone wrong with Fernando Alonso & Lance Stroll at Baku?
As Sam Collins broke down the problem, he explained, lies in the car’s new rear wing for the weekend. “It’s a pretty high-wing element. Huge amount of load, very high speed going through.”
In the first Sprint Qualifying session, the DRS was working on one car, and not the other, and later swapping. Collins observed, “It seems to be working on one car at some points and the other car at other points.”
This has been a major frustration for the drivers as the high-speed circuit of Baku is yet to be capitalized on by the Silverstone outfit. As a result of this DRS problem, they face intermittent arrival speeds. This throws them off their game by a large margin.
However, at the end of SQ2, Aston Martin played the smart game. While a threatened Stroll’s DRS was out of the picture, he used the tow provided by Alonso to safely make it into the final quali session.
For now, the game plan looks to be clever positioning and the inevitable tow. But will they fix their rear wing problem in time for the points at the end of the Sprint race? It remains doubtful.
Thus, the underdogs of the season are in for a difficult weekend. It all lies in the hands of the engineers for the team to find a breakthrough in time for some big points in the bag.
Alonso critical of DRS loss
Fernando Alonso has attributed his sixth-place finish in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying session to a DRS issue that plagued his Aston Martin. Stroll, who ended up in ninth place, over 1.4 seconds behind the pole, also confirmed that his DRS system wasn’t functioning properly.
Alonso was worried about his place in the championship. “We had some issues in FP1 and also in qualifying with the DRS, which cost us a few tenths. Being so tight, I think in the standings it will make a difference.”
However, the double champion remained hopeful. “It’s a long weekend ahead of us. Another qualifying tomorrow, another race and then the race on Sunday. So yeah, plenty of opportunities so hopefully we can pick up a few places.”
As Aston Martin keeps their fingers crossed, the clock ticks in their garage for a eureka moment. Will this finally be a weekend Alonso misses out on the podium?
