Stroll: I thought I was attacking at my best

After qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, Aston Martin drivers experienced the opposite emotions. Fernando Alonso, who showed the fifth fastest time, responded cheerfully to the results of the session. His teammate Lance Stroll did not finish the first session and complained that the car did not have enough speed.

Fernando Alonso (5th): “I am very satisfied with the fifth result. Qualifying at Suzuka is always a special experience. Today the car worked fine, with an empty tank and fresh tires. You could even say that our competitiveness was somewhat unexpected.

Last year we lost a second due to the pole time, but now it is only four tenths. This indicates that the team is on the right track. It is too early to draw conclusions whether the speed increase is related to the new products, but we will study and understand the telemetry.

Normally our qualifying pace is faster than the race pace, but we will see what happens this Sunday.”

Lance walk (16th): “I just didn’t have the pace in qualifying and I don’t know why. I thought I was attacking at the limit of the car’s capabilities, but I didn’t have enough speed to reach the second part.

Apparently the new products worked on Fernando’s car, so tonight we have to find out if something else could have affected my car. There is still a lot of work to do before the race and tomorrow we have to make the most of every opportunity that presents itself.”