Alonso’s results show ‘I’ve got to work on a few things and get better’ – Stroll

Lance Stroll admits the superior performances of his team mate Fernando Alonso this year show he needs to raise his game.

Fernando Alonso arrived at Aston Martin as Stroll’s team mate this year and has finished in front of him at every race with one exception in Spain. On that occasion Alonso closed on Stroll at the end of the race but said on the radio he would not attack his team mate.

After eight races, Alonso has scored 117 of Aston Martin’s 154 points and taken all six of their podium finishes. Stroll, whose start to the season was compromised by a wrist injury which prevented him from participating in testing, said there were some reasons which explained the difference between them.

“I think we started the season strong, all things considered, in Bahrain and then Jeddah. Melbourne was good and then we had a bit of a rough patch after Baku. But I know why.

“Miami was tough because we didn’t put the second [new] set of [soft] tyres on in Q1. In Monaco we had some damage in Q2 and then in Barcelona we were competitive again. And then in Canada we had some issues in Q2. So I think there’s been reasons why it hasn’t been good.”

Stroll finished ninth at his home race two weeks ago after failing to reach Q3 in the wet qualifying session and collecting a penalty for impeding Esteban Ocon.

“It was a tough Saturday for sure,” he said. “Some things went wrong. We made a few mistakes but came back on Sunday.

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“It wasn’t easy because we weren’t very lucky with the Safety Car and stuff. We missed the Safety Car by a lap, but we still managed to come through with good pace and pick up a couple of points.”

However Stroll admitted Alonso has also been consistently faster than him so far this year. “In terms of just outright pace, he’s been more on top of it than me. He’s been quicker, he’s been driving incredibly well.

“I don’t think I’ve been where we as a team have gotten the most out of our weekend. So it definitely hasn’t shown some of the true results.

“There’s definitely some work to do, some things to improve. Fernando has been at a very, very high level and I’ve got to definitely work on a few things and get better.”

The gap between the two drivers has been amplified by the close midfield fight at times, said Stroll. “It is details and it’s also just circumstances.

“Things like in Miami, trying to get out of Q1 on one set, he did the same as me, he just got through by a tenth and I missed it by a tenth. And then you put on the sets after, I’m 17th and he’s going into Q3.

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“Same thing in Monaco, we had floor damage and then in Monaco, you can’t recover if you start 12th and 13th, where we started, and that cost us the weekend. And then Canada it was a very tricky session.

“But when I look at the other weekends, I think it’s been small details, things to work on, but he’s still been quicker, for sure. So I’m definitely focussed on the things that I’ve got to work on and this weekend’s another opportunity to do that.”

Stroll said he’s looking for “a combination of things” to improve his performances. “There’s things from the car you’re always looking for, things from me. I missed a tremendous amount of testing at the beginning of the season, that’s always a big thing.

“But in all honesty Fernando’s just been in a really, really high level. Even when I’ve felt like [I had] some of my best days [or] really good days, he’s been that little bit quicker, he’s been at a really high level.”

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