Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will start the Formula 1 Sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix from pit lane after Aston Martin changed the specifications of both cars.
The bodywork specification and suspension set-up on Alonso and Stroll’s AMR24s have been changed ahead of the Interlagos Sprint.
Aston Martin made these changes with the approval of the FIA Technical Delegate following a written request.
Still, this means both cars will have to start from the pits.
However, given the dismal Sprint Qualifying Aston Martin endured on Friday, the pit lane start isn’t a huge loss.
Amid Aston Martin’s continued struggles with upgrades, the Silverstone-based team elected to use a floor spec last seen in April’s Japanese GP on Friday.
That backwards step didn’t have the desired effect with Alonso and Stroll qualifying 16th and 19th respectively.
“We didn’t have the pace in Sprint Qualifying today,” Alonso said on Friday.
“We had to make some changes to the car after Free Practice 1 due to the bumpy track conditions, which we knew would be detrimental to our pace.
“It’s going to be difficult to score points tomorrow in the Sprint, so we have to keep ourselves focused on Sunday.”
Zhou Guanyu set for pit lane start in Brazil F1 Sprint
As well as both Aston Martins, Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu will also start Saturday’s Sprint at Interlagos from pit lane.
Sauber has broken parc ferme without the approval of the FIA Technical Delegate to modify the suspension set up on Zhou’s C44 machine.
However, this matters little with a pit lane start not much worse than Zhou’s 20th place in Friday’s Sprint Qualifying session.
The Chinese driver was hampered by miscommunication, missing out on a chance to take one last push lap in SQ1.
Zhou’s torrid 2024 season has continued in the same torrid fashion as the 20 rounds that preceded Brazil.
An underperforming car and ill-at-ease driver have combined in a contract year for Zhou with his seat at Sauber looking all but lost for 2025.
“Today was definitely not our day,” Zhou said after Sprint Qualifying.
“FP1 showed that the track is very bumpy and that we’ll have to work hard to find the right setup.
“Sprint qualifying was quite a disappointing session for me as, unfortunately, the timing for our final run was mismanaged.
“By the time I was in a position to start the lap, the chequered flag was already out.
“While it’s frustrating since it ruined our starting position for tomorrow’s sprint, overtaking is possible, and we’ll see what we can do.
“As for now, we need to understand what went wrong today: tomorrow is a new day to make things better.”
READ MORE – F1 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying Results
