Lance Stroll will be happy with his improved performance alongside Fernando Alonso in F1 in 2024, with the head-to-head qualifying battle between the Aston Martin drivers having been evenly matched so far this season.
Stroll, who performed well alongside four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel throughout the 2021/22 season, has endured the toughest season of his 2023 F1 career.
Lance Stroll to battle Fernando Alonso in F1 in 2024
Alonso achieved a total of eight podiums throughout the season, while Stroll could only manage a fourth place and finished the season 132 points behind his teammate in the drivers’ standings.
Aston Martin will struggle to reach the same heights in F1 2024, having fallen behind teams such as Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes in the development race over the past 12 months.
Stroll has had more fun against Alonso, outqualifying his storied teammate in the last three races at Miami, Emilia Romagna and Monaco, and then equalising in the battle between the teams.
F1 2024: Race statistics
👉 F1 2024: Teammate qualifying match records
👉 F1 2024: Teammate head-to-head race statistics
However, Alonso continues to comfortably lead his teammate in the world championship and sits ninth in the standings with 33 points, 22 ahead of Stroll in 11th place.
Speaking to Canadian magazine TSN, Stroll said he was pleased with his recent performances against the multi-decorated Spaniard.
He said: “He’s a two-time world champion, people consider him the top driver in F1, and he’s four-four in qualifying.”
“Points are a bit misleading because sometimes a guy’s engine will fail and that can make the difference in points at the end of the season.”
“Looking back at the last few weeks, I think it’s been a strong showing.
“Looking at his pace and speed right now, I said 4-4 in qualifying. Everyone says he’s really good and I’ve beaten him the last few weeks, so take it how you like it.”
Speaking to media, including PlanetF1.com, ahead of the final race in Monaco after being eliminated in Q1 for the second consecutive race, Alonso admitted he hasn’t been driving well enough recently.
And the 42-year-old claims he is prepared to sacrifice his future this weekend to help Aston Martin understand its AMR24 car.
He said: “I think our performance has dropped off compared to other teams.”
“I think we improved the performance of the car, but it seems like other people made a little bit more progress than us, so we dropped a little bit down the rankings.”
“For me, I think I wasn’t perfect in those two races. I didn’t drive well enough in Miami and Imola.”
“I think what drives me on those weekends, when I’m not fighting for top five or top seven or whatever, when I know the goal isn’t good enough for us or to be happy with myself, is searching for answers.”
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