HONDA The Power of Dreams

Qualifying|21st|1 min 50.002s

Qualifying|22nd|1 min 50.177s

Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team (AMAF1) arrived at Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix. In FP1, reserve driver Jak Crawford drove Fernando Alonso’s car. Although Alonso and Lance Stroll completed their running in free practice, they headed into qualifying in difficult circumstances, unable to find the pace while an update is scheduled for the next round.

Qualifying for Round 10 of the Belgian Grand Prix took place on Saturday, July 18.

Q1 began at 4:00 pm local time in sunny conditions, with an ambient temperature of 22°C, a track temperature of 39°C and a 10% chance of rain, meaning there were no concerns over Spa weather.

Because of the circuit’s long lap, the 18-minute Q1 session allowed for two qualifying runs using two sets of tires. Stroll headed out as soon as the session began and started his first run, but with another car closing in during his flying lap, he aborted the attempt and returned to the pits.

Alonso recorded 1 min 50.196s on his first run and improved to 1 min 50.002s on his second, but it was not enough to move further up the order, and he finished qualifying in 21st.

After aborting his first run, Stroll immediately changed tires and began another attempt, recording a lap of 1 min 51.121s. On his third run, he improved to 1 min 50.177s, but the gap to the front remained significant, and he finished in 22nd.

The final Q1 classification saw Alonso finish 21st and Stroll 22nd. It was also announced that both AMAF1 cars had changed some power unit elements this weekend and would receive grid penalties for exceeding the permitted allocation.

“It was difficult out there today in Qualifying, but it's as we expected. We still try to do our best, and this has been the case over the last 10 races for us. We will make sure we maximize everything tomorrow and continue learning what we can to find every bit of performance. Tomorrow will be about doing everything we can at the highest level.”

“We made a few changes before Qualifying today and improved the car in some areas. We didn't get the perfect tow that we were looking for, though, so there were a few tenths lost there. Other than that, the pace was what we were expecting today. We know there's not much to fight for here.

“It's about getting through this weekend and focusing on what's coming in Budapest.”

“It's another tough Saturday, but we know this is our situation and we just focussed on delivering a well-executed Qualifying session.

"Tire preparation was good for both Lance and Fernando, and they both placed their cars well to pick up a tow on their best laps. With our current performance level, it won't be an easy race, but we will focus to extract what we can tomorrow.

“Just one more race and then we can focus on Budapest.”

“Friday at the Belgian Grand Prix was smooth operationally from a power unit perspective, although we know we’re lacking performance. We will work overnight to maximize our package for tomorrow’s qualifying and the race.”

“We knew that this circuit would be extremely challenging for the power unit before coming here so there is no surprise in our positions after qualifying. We find a little consolation in the fact that we’re improving event by event in the energy deployment area, together with AMAF1.”