Fernando Alonso has rued “not doing a good job” to overcome a “tricky” Aston Martin car during this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix.

After encountering trouble with its latest upgrades in Austin, Aston Martin were hopeful that a return to the conventional weekend format would boost its prospects.

But having languished off the pace throughout practice amid a focus on long runs, Lance Stroll was unable to escape the Q1 drop zone before Alonso ended up 13th.

Alonso inadvertently ensured he avoided consecutive Q1 eliminations when he span at Turn 3 in the closing minutes, marking his second such incident in two days.

The two-time World Champion admits that Aston Martin’s car has been “very tricky” to handle this weekend around the unique Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.

“Yesterday at [a] high-speed corner, I lost the car [at Turn 9], today on kerbs I lost the car,” he explained. “Seems that we’re on the edge of the grip always.

“I’ve been slow in every session, so not a bad qualifying or anything like that, we’ve been struggling the whole weekend. Tricky, we need to work altogether to get back to our best level which is obviously not the one we’re showing.”

Aston Martin chose to withdraw both cars from the starting grid in the United States Grand Prix, electing to revert Alonso back to the specification used in Qatar beforehand.

Alonso asserts that the cross-comparison demonstrated that the updated package, which enabled Stroll to recover to the points, provided the step forward anticipated.

However, the Spaniard accepts that the Silverstone squad are yet to optimise the new parts fully, which is continuing to hamper the team against its rivals.

“Obviously we had the Austin race which we used as a comparison between the two packages and the results were clear in favour of the new package,” he relayed. “We don’t have any concerns about that.

“It seems we’re not very confident now on the car, driving. We cannot extract the maximum and this is penalising us a lot.”

Alonso insists that Aston Martin is missing “a little bit of everything” before clarifying that the side’s 2023 charger holds a deficit through every section of the lap in Mexico.

“Also, in this track we were losing one or two-tenths per corner, not just one sector that we’re just missing out there,” he explained. “The lap time is just gradually slow.

“We need to find more performance, everyone is trying to do their best. Still, I feel confident that we will show better from now until Abu Dhabi, and also tomorrow. We scored points in Austin starting from pitlane; hopefully tomorrow we can still score points, starting on the grid.”

Although Alonso believes this has been his toughest weekend of the season, the ex-Alpine racer concedes that he has not been at his “best” across the opening two days.

“This weekend has been particularly difficult for me,” he accepted. “Maybe Lance was a little bit more confident this weekend, but I was not doing a good job this weekend.

“I always felt on [the] backfoot and always not trusting car; as I said, big spin yesterday at high speed [that] could have been into the wall or anything like that. I was not at my best either, so we need to improve.”

David Alonso flew to a fourth Moto3 victory of 2023 in Thailand to fire himself back into title contention, while Ayumu Sasaki’s hopes took a hit with an early crash.

Alonso got a good start from 12^th on the grid to establish himself as an integral part of the lead pack in the early laps of the contest, though for the bulk of the race decided to save his rubber and sit in and around the top five.

This left series leader Jaume Masia and Husqvarna’s Colin Veijer to dice for the leadership, though Honda Team Asia’s Taiyo Furusato began to mix it with the lead duo as the race progressed past half-distance.

Alonso then began to threaten more as he started to scrap with the leaders, though as the encounter approached its conclusion it was Veijer who had established himself in the lead.

The Dutch rider led the way onto the final lap and down the two long straights that opened the lap, though Alonso picked his moment and scythed through to the lead on entry to Turn 3.

The GasGas pilot strung together a commanding rest of the lap to build up a small lead as Furusato and Masia tussled for the runners-up spot.

Alonso’s small gap was ultimately enough to leave him clear of a final corner attack, allowing him to take the chequered flag 0.266s clear for a fourth win of the season and close to within 25 points of the championship lead.

Furusato managed to come out on the battle for the runners-up spot to secure his first-ever Moto3 rostrum result. At the same time, Veijer also slipped past Masia for the final spot on the podium after the Leopard man put on a failed attack to try and steal second at the final bend.

Masia’s fourth-place result means he extends his points advantage to 17 over Sasaki after the Japanese ace crashed after running into the back of David Munoz early on after the BOE Motorsports rider seemingly ran into technical problems with his machine.

Stefano Nepa managed to miss the slowing Munoz having been right behind, but Sasaki was unsighted and plowed into the rear of the Spaniard – forcing him out of the race as a result.

Pole-man Deniz Oncu meanwhile completed the top five after being unable to place his Ajo KTM in the right places across the last lap, while Daniel Holgado staged an impressive fightback from the back of the field to sixth having been part of the Munoz/Sasaki clash.

The Tech 3 pilot was forced to run wide to miss the collision, though he posted fastest lap after fastest lap as he cut back through the pack to keep his title hopes alive heading into the final three races of the season.

Matteo Bertelle enjoyed a strong outing for Snipers to record his best result of the year in seventh ahead of Sic58’s Ricardo Rossi and GasGas’ Ryusei Yamanaka, while Kaito Toba rounded off the top ten.

Fernando Alonso reveals that Aston Martin focused on race pace during Friday practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix, leaving its position in the pecking order unclear.

Aston Martin elected to introduce several upgrades to its car at last weekend’s United States Grand Prix, but the team were caught out by the intricacies of the Sprint format.

Having slumped to a double Q1 elimination in qualifying, the Silverstone squad opted to withdraw both cars from the starting grid, reverting Alonso to the pre-Austin AMR23.

Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll managed to climb through into the top 10 in Sunday’s grand prix, although the Spaniard’s race would be curtailed by floor damage.

With Mexico marking a return to the conventional weekend structure, Alonso stressed that Aston Martin spent all of Friday gaining a better handle on its updates.

“Yeah it was good,” Alonso assessed. “We focused a lot on race pace today and high fuel running and things like that.

“It’s difficult to read the times but the car felt good. Understanding the package more and more.”

Aston Martin appeared to be struggling to extract speed from its revised package once again in Mexico as Alonso and Stroll wound up 18th and 20th respectively in FP2.  

However, Alonso insists that he was content with the balance of his car on the opening day and insists there’s more to come once the team pivots towards performance runs.

“Yeah, felt good, felt happy,” he added. “As I said, we were working a lot on race pace and high fuel runs. Tomorrow when we add performance, we will see where we are.”

Alonso and team-mate Stroll ended the second practice hour as the only two drivers in the entire field who failed to register their fastest lap time on the Soft tyre.

The Spaniard had attempted to conduct a push lap on the red-walled compound but span at Turn 9, ruining his set of tyres.

“Yeah, I lost the car and, nothing [more to say],” he summarised.

Stroll’s attempt to get a qualifying simulation under his belt ahead of qualifying day was hampered by a wheel nut issue that confined him to the Aston Martin garage.

After managing to end his barren five-race run without a point in Austin last weekend, Stroll was coy on Aston Martin’s prospects at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Asked how the car felt in the laps he did complete, Stroll answered: “Yeah, low grip. Always slippery here with the high altitude.”

He added: “We will see what we can improve tonight and see what we can do tomorrow.”

Pierre Gasly has suggested that the Alpine’s target during the remainder of the 2023 season is to battle the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.

Having initially outlined its aim was to retain the fourth place it secured last season, Alpine have slumped to a distant sixth position in the Constructors’ Championship.

Alpine have endured a period of turmoil away from the track, resulting in Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer and long-serving Sporting Director Alan Permane exiting in July.

However, Gasly hailed his outing at the United States Grand Prix last time out as his “most complete” weekend display with Alpine, following up seventh in Saturday’s Sprint race with sixth in Sunday’s grand prix.

Asked about the aspects of the weekend that most pleased him, Gasly said: “Well, I will say probably the whole weekend. As a whole.

“I think we’ve been executing and getting the best out of that car every single session. So, whether it was the qualifying on Friday, whether it was the Sprint on Saturday, or even the race, I feel like we’ve left nothing on the table.

“And that’s definitely a satisfying feeling, when you come out of a weekend where you know, you’ve given everything and that’s pretty much the maximum you could get out of it.

“So, I think that’s going to be the target until the end of the year. Obviously we’re not fighting for anything in the championship this season so I think it’s going to be the main focus will be to just execute weekend after weekend the highest level, whether it’s on the execution or getting everything out of our car.”

After only accruing 22 points across the first 13 rounds of the year, Gasly has been in stellar form since the summer break, scoring 36 points in the past six rounds.

The ex-Red Bull racer has attributed his marked upturn in form to becoming more embedded within the Alpine ranks following his winter switch from AlphaTauri.

“I will say the first part of the season, I quite rarely got that feeling, which we just had in Austin for example, where it felt everything was optimised and we definitely didn’t leave anything on the table,” he considered.

“I think there was a bit more unknown and getting to know each other with a team, and understanding what sort of car feedback, kind of building the relationship with the team, and everything seems to click a bit better since we got back from the summer break.

“I’m really happy with the progress we’re making, in terms of execution, the attitude, the self-reflection on what we do every single weekend, on all areas. And I think overall, we’re just making a step forward as a team, which is what we need to aim for before next season.”

Looking ahead to this weekend’s race in Mexico, Gasly is remaining realistic on Alpine’s prospects, admitting that the top four in the standings remain out of reach.

However, the 27-year-old is optimistic that the Anglo-French marque can potentially battle Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin across the remaining five rounds of the year.

Asked what can be expected of Alpine at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Gasly said: “Well, I think pretty much the same we have seen last weekend. We seem to be not quite there with the guys ahead, the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.

“We are not too far from Aston and we can be right in front of them if they don’t get it quite right, like they did in Austin, so I think that’s going to be our main competition.

“If we can get in a fight with Fernando a couple of times until the end of the year, I think that will definitely be a good performance and, as I said, just maximise the opportunities. There might be a couple of good opportunities until Abu Dhabi and just need to make sure we’re there to grab them.” 

Fernando Alonso admits that Aston Martin is still “not totally clear” how to set up its upgraded car for the upcoming Mexico City Grand Prix.

Aston Martin elected to introduce a spate of updates in Austin – including a new floor edge, diffuser, engine cover and beam wing – in an attempt to stem its ongoing plight.

However, the team’s understanding of its revised package was limited by managing only 24 laps in the sole practice hour ahead of qualifying due to brake fire issues, resulting in both drivers dropping out in Q1.

Subsequently, the Silverstone squad elected to withdraw its two cars to the pitlane in order to make set-up changes, reverting Alonso back to the pre-Austin specification.

Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll went on to enjoy an encouraging race, with the pair running line astern in the points places until the former retired late on with floor damage.

Asked where in particular Aston Martin discovered its overnight gains, Alonso said: “Optimising the setup. I think on Sprint weekends, you have that risk of, you know, having only one session, where you have to optimise everything on the car.

“We had a very difficult session in FP1 with a lot of brake problems. And yeah, we opted to change the setup, optimise a little bit everything, the package, and start from the pit lane. And that was a nice result for us, good information that we got from Austin.”

However, with the exception of Haas, Alonso acknowledged that the rest of its rivals were hindered by the Sprint format mandating no further set-up changes beyond practice.

“I think the pace that we saw on Sunday, it was a combination of being optimized on our side and I think our main opponents were not optimized, having only FP1,” he warned. “So it was the same for everybody and we took the opportunity to have a better Sunday.”

Following its strong Sunday recovery, Aston Martin Team Principal Mike Krack relayed that he is convinced the side heads into this weekend’s round in better shape.

But Alonso is wary that the team needs to maximise the track time afforded by the return to the traditional weekend format to gain a better understanding of its upgrades.

Asked if the team were clear on how the AMR23 needed to be dialled in at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Alonso replied: “Not totally clear. I think it is a completely different track with different needs. So I think we will use the full practice this time.

“After a few Sprint events we are, you know, more relaxed now and happier that we have FP1, FP2, FP3 to optimise things. So it’s going to be the same for everybody. But yeah, we really need these three practices that are coming in the next days.”

Both Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack were “happy” that Lance Stroll ended his recent slump by scoring points in the United States Grand Prix.

Arriving in Austin, Stroll was on a barren run of not scoring a single point since the summer break, prompting his father, Lawrence, to defend his form in the media.

While Aston Martin’s struggles earlier in the weekend resigned Stroll to a fourth consecutive Q1 exit on Friday, Stroll charged from a pit lane start to come home ninth.

The Canadian was promoted two places to seventh post-race when both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified for excessive plank wear on their cars.

Stroll was pleased with his recovery drive, acknowledging that it was the finest day he had enjoyed in Formula 1 “in a long time”.

“It was a much better day today than we’ve had in a long time, so it was nice for us, starting from the pit lane to finishing in the points is always hard to do and we did it today so that was very positive.”

Alonso had accompanied Stroll in being withdrawn from the starting grid after Aston Martin elected to revert the Spaniard to the pre-Austin specification on his AMR23.

The two-time F1 champion was running one place ahead of Stroll when floor damage forced him to retire, but Alonso admitted his content at his team-mate’s showing.

“Happy for him, because he deserved to have better weekends,” Alonso addressed.

“Even this weekend he did a very good race today, but tough sessions yesterday and not many laps again in FP1. Finally some good news and hopefully we keep going in Mexico.”

Meanwhile, Krack credited Stroll for driving a “very strong” race, adding that he could have pipped Pierre Gasly for what transpired to be sixth place with an additional lap.

Asked how important Sunday was for Stroll’s confidence, Krack said: “Yes absolutely, I’m really happy for Lance, I’m really, really happy and I think the team as well and I think we all wish him to have a result to come from the pit lane and just behind Gasly.

“I think, I think one lap more we would have been able to pass [the Alpine driver]. But all in all, I think he drove a very strong race, all the stints, all the tyres. He was just, you know, he was really on it, clean overtakes. So yeah, I’m really happy about it.”

Pressed on what he needs to do to ensure he can deliver that level consistently, the Aston Martin chief replied: “We need to provide him with the tool to do it because you see if we do, the performance is there.”

Aston Martin have confirmed that Fernando Alonso’s retirement from the United States Grand Prix was caused by damage to a floor edge from a “brutal” track surface.

Having opted to start from the pitlane in order to make alterations to the set-up of their cars, both Aston Martin drivers climbed their way into the lower end of the top 10.

However, Alonso was running a steady ninth in the closing stages when he suddenly slowed and was advised to return to the pits.

Alonso concedes it marked a “painful” end to his race in Austin, after overcoming a challenging weekend to be in a position to lead a double points haul for the team.

“It was a super race for us, great comeback, a lot of pace in the car,” he said. “So we started from the pit lane, and we were aiming to finish eighth, so this was a very good race for us.

“Unfortunately, we had to retire the car with some damage that we picked up on the floor apparently and we had to retire.

“So it is painful because the whole weekend we were lacking pace and that was not good. And in the race today we had a lot of pace, but we still have to retire.

“So zero points, it hurts, but nothing we can do; we concentrate on Mexico.”

Asked what caused the damage, Alonso replied: “Probably kerbs.”

Expanding on the issue that curtailed Alonso’s involvement, Aston Martin Team Principal Mike Krack confirmed: “The track is brutal here, you know, it’s really, really very, very tough and there was one part of the floor, the floor edges on this on the right that is just broken off like half a meter in like this, this long and this wide just gone.”

The multitude of bumps notoriously present at COTA became the centre of criticism again post-race, with Max Verstappen arguing the track is currently not “F1 level”.

Krack sided with Verstappen’s complaints, highlighting: “The drivers are best placed to say that, you know, we’re sitting outside and look what they do, you know, they drive it.

“So, and they have also the comparison to other floors, to other circuits, we know that this is a hard circuit. You know, you come here, you reinforce everything, you strengthen the brake ducts, you strengthen the deflectors, you strengthen everything that you can strengthen.

“And if you look at the replacement list, there is also some teams that had to replace some parts because it’s so tough.

“Now, if it is, I think it’s also the combination in the circuit with this kind of, this generation [of F1] cars that you have to run on the lower side that makes it makes it hard. But it is a fact that it is a very hard circuit.”

Prior to Sunday, Aston Martin had endured an arduous weekend, which began with Alonso declaring it would be a testing event for the team after a double Q1 elimination.

After further struggles in Saturday’s Sprint, Aston Martin withdrew its two cars from the grid for the grand prix, returning Alonso to the pre-Austin specification AMR23.

The two-time F1 champion was enthused by the positive progress he and Stroll made in the race but concedes the Silverstone side must understand its contrasting form.

“I think we had yesterday both cars struggling a little bit, we didn’t do many laps in the weekend and today we went again into the race completely blind with new set-ups for both cars, even different package between both cars, so a little bit a test session,” Alonso emphasised.

“I think we felt much more competitive today than any other session of the weekend. Starting from the pit lane, both cars in the points I think is better than what we saw yesterday and that’s good news, but obviously, we need to understand many details.”

Fernando Alonso rued heading a “bit blind into qualifying” for the United States Grand Prix after Aston Martin endured a double Q1 elimination.

Neither Aston Martin driver was able to progress beyond the opening segment on Friday, marking the side’s worst qualifying session of the entire season to date.

Alonso attributed his first failure to reach Q3 this year down to being sent out too late for his final run, resulting in him encountering major traffic problems on his out lap.

Asked if there was more capable in the car than the 17th position he mustered, Alonso said: “No it was the maximum.

“The lap was not ideal – the out lap especially the traffic was very bad to manage. I think I crossed the line within one second of the limit, so I started the lap too close to the cars in front. So that didn’t help but that lap felt OK, and the pace was maybe not good enough to get into Q2.

“Let’s see tomorrow if we can do a good Sprint because Sunday’s race is heavily compromised now.”

In a bid to rediscover its early-season momentum, Aston Martin elected to press ahead with bringing upgrades this weekend despite the presence of the Sprint format.

However, the British marque’s sole practice hour ahead of qualifying was hampered by a brake fire issue on both cars, limiting Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll on track time.

Amid its problems earlier in the day, Alonso outlines that Aston Martin was unable to identify an optimal set-up before entering qualifying with its newly revised package.

“We should go back and complete the day completely,” he underlined.

“Starting from the morning we had a terrible session. Lance didn’t complete any laps, I only did six or seven quality laps with the new package.

“Too many unknowns in terms of how to operate the package and the new car so I think we went a little bit blind into qualifying and obviously we see the result.”

With the cars now locked into parc ferme conditions, Alonso insists that Aston Martin should opt to utilise the rest of the race weekend as a test session for next year.

“So nothing we can do now, we are in parc ferme,” he acknowledged.

“We use these weekends as a test for next year as well, even if they are painful, so let’s see what we can learn in the remaining sessions.”

Stroll had only circulated for five laps in practice, significantly hampering his attempts to avoid a fifth successive Q1 exit.

But the Canadian, who qualified as high as seventh last year, insists that struggles with the handling of his AMR23 were not to blame for him clocking the second slowest time.

“It didn’t feel like it was a bad session,” he said. “I actually felt okay with the car, even after no running in FP1 I felt like I got to grips with the car pretty quickly. But we just weren’t quick enough.”

Asked if he was hoping for more with the upgrades, Stroll admitted: “Yeah, I was hoping for more, for sure.”

Unlike Alonso, Stroll isn’t ruling out recovering the lost ground on Sunday, citing that the track configuration at the Circuit of the Americas does encourage overtaking.

“There’s definitely opportunity here on Sunday, so let’s see what we can do,” he concluded.

Fernando Alonso has defended Lance Stroll’s performance struggles and is looking to help his Canadian team-mate escape his current slump.

While Alonso still holds a slight chance of second in the Drivers’ standings, Stroll has failed to score points since the summer break.

After an impressive start to the 2023 campaign, Aston Martin emerged as Red Bull’s closest competitor in the early stages of the current Formula 1 campaign.

Alonso has picked up seven podiums this season, six of which came in the first half of the season. But Stroll has been unable to match his team-mate’s performances, managing a best Sunday result of fourth in Melbourne, the third round of the championship.

While Aston Martin have seen a decline in performance owing to “side effects” from a sizeable upgrade package that arrived in Canada, the team has been unable to reacquire its early season form.

Regardless of Aston Martin’s performance slump, Stroll enters the United States Grand Prix weekend a massive 136 points adrift of his team-mate and has failed to score points since Belgium. The Canadian has also failed to escape Q1 in the last four rounds.

“We are all helping him. I’m trying to do my best as well,” Alonso said when asked if there is any advice he can pass on to Stroll to address his struggles with the AMR-23.

“My part, if I find something in the car that I feel more comfortable, I’m obviously listening to all the debriefs because we are together in the same room, whatever difficulty that he is expressing, I’m trying to remember what could have been a help for me in the past or in setup or whatever.

“We are working very close together to find the right path for the team and try to score points with both cars. I think he’s been extremely unlucky with some situations.”

Alonso is one of three full-time drivers yet to retire from a grand prix in 2023, but Stroll has not been afforded the same fortune.

“I think the pace and the speed is not that far off when everything goes normally. Like in the race in Qatar, we were within a tenth of a second when he was doing this tremendous comeback from 17th to ninth.

“In Suzuka, he had the rear wing failure. So all this is just hitting your confidence, you know, because it’s like in football, when you win two or three matches, everything goes perfect. When you lose two or three matches, you start getting stressed and you try to deliver the job in the next one.”

Speculation over Stroll’s future mounted over the course of the Qatar Grand Prix weekend; however, Aston Martin has firmly denied talk of him being replaced.

Alonso insists that Stroll needs a reset, and the Spaniard hopes that, for the 24-year-old’s sake, it comes this weekend in Austin.

“We need a clean weekend. We need something. Qualifying especially is the most intense part of the weekend.

“With Q1 being so tight, if you have anything that affects those laps, then the race weekend is compromised when you start at the back.  So we just need a clean weekend and hopefully this one is the starting point.”

Fernando Alonso contends that Aston Martin is currently enjoying a better Formula 1 season than McLaren, pointing out that his team remains ahead in the championship.

Aston Martin started the year as Red Bull’s closest challenger, enabling Alonso to notch six podium finishes across the opening eight races, but he has only added one since.

Having struggled initially to even score points, McLaren’s season was transformed by the introduction of a revised car in Austria that has propelled the team to the sharp end.

Double podiums at the last two rounds have seen the Woking squad heavily outscore Aston Martin, slashing the deficit to only 11 points in the Constructors’ standings.

Although it appears inevitable that McLaren will seize fourth – potentially as early as this weekend – Alonso insists that he is not “disappointed” with Aston Martin’s results.

“I think after last winter, what this team have done with the change between ’22 and ’23 I hope we can do something similar,” Alonso said ahead of the United States Grand Prix.

“So if it’s very different to this one, and it’s as fast as we started the season, I will be happy.

“I think it’s normal that now you see McLaren and some teams made a huge step forward and you may feel disappointed with our results and, I see that point, but we are not on that page.”

The two-time champion believes that Aston Martin’s position compared to last year and current advantage over McLaren showcases that its plight has been overblown.

“We are super proud of this 2023, 197 points more at this point this year than last year, which is something incredible,” he added.

“And yeah, even if you stop someone now in the paddock and you ask which one had a better season? Until now Aston Martin or McLaren, 99% of the people will say McLaren, they are 11 points behind. So, you know, until now, actually, we had a better season than them because we’re still 11 points ahead.

“But it’s true that the final race is where it counts and, what stays in your head and, and this final couple of weekends, we are not up to speed.

“They’ve been better than us in terms of developing the car, so we need to accept that, but 2024 is going to be a different thing.”

This weekend’s Circuit of the Americas venue consists of a range of low, medium and high-speed corners, providing a test for the drivers to set their respective cars up.

But Alonso asserts the intervention of the Sprint format, mandating only one practice hour before parc ferme conditions are in operation, will be the greater challenge.

The Spaniard suspects that will be magnified this weekend by Aston Martin looking to optimise upgrades to its AMR23 charger.

Asked if it would be tough to identify an ideal set-up for the weekend on Friday, Alonso replied: “No, it should not be too difficult.

“I think the biggest challenge for us is as you saw, the Sprint format. You only have FP1, so a couple of laps where you need to set up the car and then make further decisions between FP1 and qualifying which are normally just a guess that everything will work fine.

“Something that may work fine for qualifying one lap, it doesn’t fit for the race on Sunday, but you need to guess all these compromises. “So this is the challenge that we face. It is the same for everybody, but yeah, let’s see if we can have it right this time.

“The Sprint weekends have been good for us so far. It’s not that we are struggling in terms of finding the set-up.

“We have some new parts as well this race, like most of the others. Everybody is trying to bring upgrades to the car and then you only have one session, so not enough to optimise everything.”