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Is Aston Martin's race pace a concern? FP1 and FP2 analysis

FP1


Mercedes

Max Verstappen set the pace in Free Practice 1, with Fernando Alonso finishing 2nd. Aston Martin is showcasing an impressive one-lap pace, but questions arise about their ability to maintain positions during the race. Is Aston Martin's race pace a concern?


Verstappen began the weekend by leading FP1. He initially trailed George Russell by 0.003s on his first run with new soft tires but then pulled clear in his second run, securing a comfortable lead. His fastest time in the session was 1m29.659s, keeping him at the top. Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin was the 2nd quickest, trailing by two-tenths of a second.


Sergio Perez finished 3rd, just one-hundredth of a second faster than Russell, who claimed the 4th position. Both Ferrari drivers secured 5th and 6th places, with Charles Leclerc in 5th and Carlos Sainz in 6th. Sainz, who missed Wednesday's media duties due to illness, returned in time for the session.


Lando Norris finished seventh, marking McLaren's fastest lap, while his teammate ended up in 15th place. Lewis Hamilton secured 8th place, Lance Stroll survived an incident with the wall to finish 9th, and Alex Albon claimed the 10th position.


Sauber's fastest driver was Valtteri Bottas in 11th place, while his teammate Zhou Guanyu finished 18th after surviving a wide slide during his soft tire run, losing significant time before backing out.


Daniel Ricciardo managed to secure 12th place in FP1 using the mediums for Red Bull, while his teammate finished 16th, also using the mediums.


Esteban Ocon and Logan Sargeant claimed 13th and 14th positions, respectively, setting their best times on mediums. Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg, and Kevin Magnussen also logged their best times on mediums.


FREE PRACTICE 1 RESULTS


POSITION

DRIVER

CAR

TIME

GAP

1

Max Verstappen

RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT

1:29.659


2

Fernando Alonso

ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES

1:29.845

+0.186s

3

Sergio Perez

RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT

1:29.868

+0.209s

4

George Russell

MERCEDES

1:29.939

+0.280s

5

Charles Leclerc

FERRARI

1:30.030

+0.371s

6

Carlos Sainz

FERRARI

1:30.164

+0.505s

7

Lando Norris

MCLAREN MERCEDES

1:30.231

+0.572s

8

Lewis Hamilton

MERCEDES

1:30.236

+0.577s

9

Lance Stroll

ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES

1:30.580

+0.921s

10

Alexander Albon

WILLIAMS MERCEDES

1:30.747

+1.088s

11

Valtteri Bottas

KICK SAUBER FERRARI

1:30.783

+1.124s

12

Daniel Ricciardo

RB HONDA RBPT

1:30.917

+1.258s

13

Esteban Ocon

ALPINE RENAULT

1:30.945

+1.286s

14

Logan Sargeant

WILLIAMS MERCEDES

1:30.966

+1.307s

15

Oscar Piastri

MCLAREN MERCEDES

1:30.977

+1.318s

16

Yuki Tsunoda

RB HONDA RBPT

1:31.036

+1.377s

17

Pierre Gasly

ALPINE RENAULT

1:31.046

+1.387s

18

Zhou Guanyu

KICK SAUBER FERRARI

1:31.131

+1.472s

19

Nico Hulkenberg

HAAS FERRARI

1:31.411

+1.752s

20

Kevin Magnussen

HAAS FERRARI

1:31.577

+1.918s


FP2


Ferrari of Charles Leclerc


Fernando Alonso put Aston Martin on top in Free Practice 2 on Thursday evening, with George Russell two-tenths behind him and Max Verstappen trailing by three-tenths of a second.


Although the pace looked promising for the Aston Martin driver in a single lap, the long runs revealed a different story. Aston Martin appeared comparatively slower than Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari. Despite Alonso's exceptional lap that secured 6th place in Bahrain, he faced struggles throughout the race.


His teammate, Lance Stroll, showcased an improved one-lap pace, finishing 6th fastest, just behind Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez in 4th and 5th, respectively.


Red Bull demonstrated superiority in longer runs, with Perez completing 15 laps, providing the team with valuable data. Mercedes had a limited amount of data for their long runs, as George Russell matched Max Verstappen's time, with only a few laps before drawing conclusions.


Lewis Hamilton finished 8th, trailing behind Carlos Sainz of Ferrari. Hamilton encountered a significant pause in the pits, reporting power loss, but managed to return in the final minutes of the session.


Pierre Gasly of Alpine secured 9th place, indicating improved competitiveness in their one-lap pace since Bahrain. Oscar Piastri rounded up the top 10 for the FP2 session. However, his teammate Lando Norris faced challenges in the session, struggling with his car and complaining of "too much bottoming" throughout.


FREE PRACTICE 2 RESULTS


POSITION

DRIVER

CAR

TIME

GAP

1

Fernando Alonso

ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES

1:28.827


2

George Russell

MERCEDES

1:29.057

+0.230s

3

Max Verstappen

RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT

1:29.158

+0.331s

4

Charles Leclerc

FERRARI

1:29.180

+0.353s

5

Sergio Perez

RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT

1:29.300

+0.473s

6

Lance Stroll

ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES

1:29.336

+0.509s

7

Carlos Sainz

FERRARI

1:29.455

+0.628s

8

Lewis Hamilton

MERCEDES

1:29.504

+0.677s

9

Pierre Gasly

ALPINE RENAULT

1:29.528

+0.701s

10

Oscar Piastri

MCLAREN MERCEDES

1:29.594

+0.767s

11

Yuki Tsunoda

RB HONDA RBPT

1:29.666

+0.839s

12

Lando Norris

MCLAREN MERCEDES

1:29.758

+0.931s

13

Zhou Guanyu

KICK SAUBER FERRARI

1:29.777

+0.950s

14

Alexander Albon

WILLIAMS MERCEDES

1:29.789

+0.962s

15

Esteban Ocon

ALPINE RENAULT

1:29.901

+1.074s

16

Logan Sargeant

WILLIAMS MERCEDES

1:29.934

+1.107s

17

Kevin Magnussen

HAAS FERRARI

1:29.985

+1.158s

18

Nico Hulkenberg

HAAS FERRARI

1:30.077

+1.250s

19

Daniel Ricciardo

RB HONDA RBPT

1:30.088

+1.261s

20

Valtteri Bottas

KICK SAUBER FERRARI

1:30.153

+1.326s


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