Aston Martin hasn’t been doing as well as they hoped in Formula 1 this year. They’re currently in fifth place, behind teams like Ferrari and McLaren. They’re going into the Miami race 12 points behind the fourth-placed Mercedes team.
But even though they haven’t been doing great in races, they’ve been doing really well in qualifying. Fernando Alonso, who drives for Aston Martin, has been starting near the front of the grid in most races. But then, during the race, they fall back a bit.
Alonso says they see their strong qualifying as a good thing, even if they struggle during the race. He says, “We can’t say sorry for being too fast in qualifying, so let’s take it.”
Tom McCullough, who helps with the team’s performance, says they know they need to figure out why they’re not as fast during races. They’re working hard to make sure their car is good for both qualifying and the race.
He says, “We’re trying everything to prepare the car for racing as well as possible. We’re not just focusing on being fast in qualifying and forgetting about the race.”
McCullough explains that the changes they’ve made to the car, like improving the DRS system, were meant to make the car better during races. But those changes also helped them do better in qualifying.
He says, “Our main focus is to have a fast car during the race. But some changes we made also helped us do better in qualifying. Qualifying is important because if you start near the front, you have a better chance to do well in the race.”
So, even though Aston Martin is doing well in qualifying, they’re working hard to make sure they do just as well during the actual race.
