HONDA The Power of Dreams

Qualifying|P21|1 min 32.646s

Qualifying|P22|1 min 32.920s

Qualifying for Round 3 of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix, took place on Saturday, March 28. Both cars of the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team (AMAF1) completed laps without issue during Friday’s Free Practice sessions and Saturday’s FP3, heading into qualifying with consistent running.

Q1 began at 3:00 pm under clear skies at Suzuka Circuit, with a full crowd in attendance. Conditions were good, with an air temperature of 18°C and track temperature of 32°C, as the circuit approached peak cherry blossom season.

During the 18-minute Q1 session, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll went out at the start and completed three runs using three sets of new tires. Alonso improved with each attempt, setting times of 1 min 33.846s, 1 min 33.392s, and 1 min 32.646s. Stroll also improved from 1 min 34.408s to 1 min 32.920s, but was unable to improve on his final run.

“A tough Qualifying for us today here in Suzuka. This circuit exposes our current limitations, and that was clear on track. Despite the Q1 exit, we have still been able to build mileage across the sessions, which is important for gathering data and understanding the car better. I always enjoy driving here, so tomorrow we will try to maximize everything and see what's possible.”

“I had some energy management issues on the last run in Q1 and lost a couple of tenths there so will start the race tomorrow from the back. The goal for the race is to see the checkered flag and get over the finish line, so our focus remains on reliability until we sort out our current issues. We have a good idea of the areas we need to work on during the next couple of months and we know that's not going to be an overnight fix and will take time.”

“We know that our performance is not where it needs to be right now and this was always going to be a challenging weekend. Nonetheless, both Lance and Fernando pushed hard in today's Qualifying session as they each completed three runs in Q1. Although we could not progress to Q2, we have made some incremental improvements, and we are in better shape compared to Friday. The focus now is to complete a race distance and build on the reliability we have shown leading up to the race.”

“FP3 and qualifying were both smooth sessions, continuing from yesterday. There were no issues with the power unit, and we were able to complete the planned running without interruption. In terms of performance, the lap times show that we are still not at the level we are aiming for. However, at least from a reliability standpoint, we feel we are making steady progress.

”As for qualifying, we delivered the best result possible with what we currently have. We will take that result as it is and focus on the race, where our aim is to achieve a finish, something we have not yet been able to do so far this season.”