Alonso felt Aston Martin was closer on Friday. By Saturday, he was warning about cooling. On Sunday, both cars retired in the opening laps, ending the team’s chance to turn encouraging practice pace into points.
Aston Martin’s Mexican Grand Prix ended in the opening laps as Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both retired, completing a disappointing turnaround from the promise Alonso had shown in practice.
Alonso returned to the pits to retire before Stroll stopped on track, triggering a Virtual Safety Car. Aston Martin said both cars had experienced “abnormal pressure levels in the PU systems,” referring to their power units.
That ended the team’s afternoon while most of the race was still ahead.
Friday gave Alonso reason for hope
Alonso finished seventh in opening practice and 12th in the second session. More encouraging than the positions was how the car felt and how much closer he was to the front.
“We feel a little closer today than we have at previous events,” Alonso said after Friday’s running.
His best FP2 lap was 0.769 seconds behind Charles Leclerc. That did not guarantee points, but it offered a reason to believe Aston Martin could have a more competitive weekend.
There were concerns on the other side of the garage, however. Jak Crawford’s opening practice session ended with a battery problem, and Stroll had a difficult afternoon after taking the car back.
Qualifying changed the picture
An engine issue stopped Alonso during Q1 on Saturday, cutting short a session in which he felt the car was good enough to challenge for Q2.
His assessment of Sunday was much less encouraging. Alonso warned that the cooling challenges facing Aston Martin would make the race difficult. Stroll also identified cooling as a concern.
Those warnings provided important context for Sunday’s disappointment. The team’s initial explanation of the retirements did not establish whether Alonso had suffered a repeat of his qualifying problem.
Another chance to close on Williams disappears
Mexico had offered Aston Martin an opportunity to reduce its deficit to Williams in the constructors’ standings.
With both cars out, that opportunity was gone.
Friday suggested there was more pace available. Sunday left the team without the running needed to turn that promise into a result.
