The wait is over. After the summer break, Formula One fired up again on the Dutch coast, with the orange-clad fans packing into Zandvoort’s grandstands for Round 15 of the World Championship. For the Aston Martin Aramco team, the spotlight was firmly on whether the encouraging signs in Hungary could be maintained with another solid top-ten point scoring finish. No major upgrades had been brought to the Netherlands — instead, the focus was on maximising the correlation between the factory’s wind-tunnel outputs and the realities of the racetrack. One noteworthy piece of news though, was that the latest addition to Aston Martin's legendary bloodline of high-performance 'S' models, the new Aston Martin Vantage S, the most performance-focused Vantage ever created, would make its F1 debut at Zandvoort as the Official FIA Safety Car of F1.
Practice Sessions
As soon as the green light signalled the start of FP1 both Aston Martins headed straight out to begin systems checks and baseline runs. The early pace was encouraging; within 10 minutes Alonso had vaulted to the top of the timing screens, briefly holding P1. Luckily, that was just before the session was halted, when Tsunoda first and then Mercedes rookie, Antonelli, both slid off track and into the gravel. Antonelli became stuck in a precarious position which required red flags. At the time of the stoppage, Alonso was sitting P4 with Lance Stroll in P7. Once the session resumed, the team settled into its programme of data gathering and set-up exploration. At the halfway stage Stroll was running a solid P5 and Alonso P7, both drivers alternating between short runs on soft tyres and longer evaluation on heavier fuel. With 15 minutes remaining Alonso was back into the top three while Stroll, finding rhythm on the evolving surface, climbed up to P7. At the end of the session Stroll finished an impressive P3, Alonso P4; both drivers separated by fractions of a second and within half a second of Norris, who topped the timesheets.
As rain was forecast to fall in the opening quarter-hour of FP2, the teams rushed to get their drivers out and bank early laps. Alonso was immediately on the pace, going fastest overall within 5 minutes. Stroll, however, suffered a major setback. Barely 10 minutes into the session and having covered just 7 laps, he went slightly over the edge of the track, lost control and crashed heavily, causing substantial damage to the AMR25 and triggering an inevitable red flag. The Canadian’s crash not only curtailed his afternoon but handed the pit crew a huge repair job before Saturday’s FP3 and Qualifying. Shortly after the restart, Hadjar’s Racing Bull inexplicably ground to a halt on track, requiring a brief Virtual Safety Car period. At the halfway point Alonso was in P10, with Stroll — unable to compete — slipping down to P12. Carrying the sole responsibility, Alonso reignited Aston Martin’s charge, delivering a superb lap to retake P1 with 25 minutes remaining. Only Norris managed to beat it, by a wafer-thin 0.087 seconds. Piastri fell short of Alonso’s mark, underlining the AMR25’s genuine competitiveness on low fuel. But FP2 was not finished with interruptions. Albon crashed his Williams into the barriers and beached it in the gravel, requiring red flags to be shown again. Once cleared, Alonso returned to the track for final laps on the medium tyres, which although more durable are slightly slower than the soft tyres. Even so, he remained firmly inside the top two. It ended up with Alonso in P2, a mere whisker behind Norris, while Stroll ended P18 having dropped down the order after his accident.
After FP2 finished and Stroll’s AMR25 was brought back to the garage, it was clear it was going to be a long afternoon and evening for the mechanics and pit crew, rebuilding and repairing the car, including a full monocoque (survival cell) change. The rebuild took until the edge of curfew restrictions, but the good news was that by Saturday morning the car was rebuilt and ready in time for FP3, a testament to the crew’s skill and determination. Heavy rain overnight left the track damp at the start of the final practice session and the drivers were in no rush to head out on to the circuit. Stroll eventually tip-toed out, initially on intermediate tyres but came back into the garage without setting a time or damaging the car. He then went out again, the first driver to do so on soft tyres and he went P1, registering a 1m 11.854s time, which was quickly beaten by Antonelli and then Alonso, who went 0.77 quicker than Stroll. As the track dried further, the times tumbled and the Aston Martins slipped back. At the halfway stage, Alonso was down in P8, Stroll P9. Both sat in the garage for long periods, saving tyres for Qualifying. When they returned for their last runs, Stroll delivered a tidy lap to climb to P5 before fading back slightly, while Alonso had a tense moment, nearly colliding with Russell as he was returning to the pits. When the chequered flag fell, Stroll had secured P8 and Alonso P10 — a decent but less eye-catching session compared to Friday; the pace looking encouraging but not spectacular, with the car seemingly in the battle for the lower half of the top ten.
Qualifying
Unfortunately again for Stroll his Qualifying session unravelled almost immediately. Barely minutes into Q1, Stroll misjudged the edge of the track, lost control and spun heavily into the barriers at the top of a gravel bank. Although he was able to limp back to the garage in his AMR25, the damage was terminal - his day over. That left Aston Martin’s hopes solely with Alonso, who continued to deliver. His challenge was to navigate traffic over a short lap, windy conditions and tight margins, with the midfield pack separated by little more than a tenth. His first run was solid enough to put himself P4 and although he started a final fast lap he bailed out of completing it as he knew he would be safely through to Q2, in P11. Q2 was not so comfortable, as on his first run Alonso only went 8th but was quickly shuffled down to P11, which left him vulnerable. With everything riding on his final attempt, he left it to the very last moment to place himself P7, despite a slower time in sector one, but into Q3 nonetheless. In the final round, Alonso struck early, going P4 on his initial flying lap. However, after all the first runs by all ten drivers had been completed, he had drifted down the order, to P8. Out went all the drivers for their final laps and when everyone had had completed, it was Alonso that trailed in 10th place, which is where would start the race on Sunday — slightly disappointing given how close he had been to the upper midfield earlier in the day. Stroll, as result of his accident, would face a long afternoon on race day, starting at the back once the damage to his AMR25 is fully assessed and repaired.
Race
The following day the Paddock reconvened for the first race after the summer break. Prior to the formation lap getting underway we knew that Stroll would start 19th as Bearman had power unit elements in his car changed under parc fermé conditions, so he would start last from the pit lane. As the five lights went out at the start of the 72-lap race, the leaders launched cleanly but the pressure from Verstappen, roared on by his home crowd, was immediate. He lunged at Norris for P2 and, despite a wild wobble mid-corner, muscled his way past. Alonso, however, did not enjoy the same fortune; a sluggish getaway dropped him three places, down to 13th. Stroll held station in P19, but by lap 3 he was already battling for position, passing Bortoleto after a minor tangle. When it was reported that rain was expected in 3 minutes it became a guessing game as to ‘will they, won't they come in for intermediate tyres?’ especially as the skies were still holding back. At the front, Norris had reeled Verstappen back in and retook 2nd place on lap 9. Shortly after, Stroll come into the pits for new hard tyres, which seemed a big gamble, as wasn’t raining yet. He resumed the race, on lap 12, in 20th place, with Alonso in P13. On lap 17, Alonso made his pit stop for new hard tyres, suggesting a possible long one-stop plan that could potentially run to the end of the race. He rejoined in P17, behind Stroll. Drops of rain had begun to appear and a few other drivers started to come into the pits for tyre changes, but the track remained just dry enough for slicks. Then we had the first big incident of the race - Hamilton crashed heavily, bringing out the brand new Aston Martin Vantage S Safety Car on lap 25. Both Aston Martins were well-placed to benefit, having already stopped, so they moved up the order as other cars came in for fresh tyres – Stroll up to P12 and Alonso P14. After the restart, Sainz and Lawson made contact, giving each other punctures and they slipped down the order. Also Alonso came under pressure and lost a place to Tsunoda. On lap 28, Stroll was 10th, Alonso 13th. Two laps later, Stroll continued his rise, muscling past Ocon to move into P9. Shortly after, debris was spotted on the circuit and the Virtual Safety Car was deployed briefly. Once cleared, the racing and battles, resumed. Alonso was shadowing Tsunoda closely, often with the benefit of DRS, but he just couldn’t get past him. Clearly frustrated, it was decided to try something ‘different’ and try to ‘undercut Tsunoda and the two slower Haas drivers in front of him. Alonso drove into the pits for fresh tyres and rejoined P17 but lit up the timing screens, clocking the fastest lap of the race up to that point. Alonso’s pace on his new set of hard tyres was blistering. Over the next 10 laps, he reeled in and dispatched Hulkenberg for P12, before picking off Bortoleto to climb to P11, with his next target, Colapinto, clearly in his sights. But then, misfortune struck Leclerc’s Ferrari. Antonelli, darting out of the pits, carelessly clattered into Leclerc and pushed him off track and into a wall, eliminating his scarlet car from the race. Again, the Aston Martin Vantage S Safety Car had to be deployed, compressing the pack up, with some drivers choosing to come into the pits for a final set of fresh tyres, including Stroll, meaning that on lap 55, Alonso was lined up 9th behind the safety car and Stroll 12th. At the restart, both attacked immediately - Alonso diving alongside Gasly, while Stroll opportunistically snatched Bortoleto’s place. However, Bearman and Stroll, on fresh medium tyres, came through and past Alonso, demoting him to 11th. With 10 laps to go Stroll was P10 and Alonso P11 - but both cars were on the verge of points, as Antonelli was handed 15-seconds of penalties for his collision with Leclerc and speeding in the pit lane. But that wasn’t going to be the end of it and both drivers pressed forwards, Stroll passing Gasly for P9, while Alonso had his own duel with the Alpine driver, scrapping wheel-to-wheel before prevailing. Just as the Aston Martins seemed set for an uneventful run to the finish line, at the very front, Norris, who was bearing down on Piastri suffered a major engine failure, with smoke emerging and oil spilling onto the track — a devastating blow for him and his Championship hopes. With his car stationary on track, the Safety Car was deployed for a third time, concertinaing up the remaining race cars. With five laps to go, the fatally defective McLaren was cleared away and the race resumed, but there were no more incidents and Piastri was first to the chequered flag, followed by Verstappen and then by Hadjar – his first podium finish in his rookie year. Although Stroll crossed the finish line 8th and Alonso 9th, after Antonelli’s time penalty was factored in Stroll was classified P7 and Alonso P8, thus securing the team a total of 10 vital points - a reward for patience and survival in an incident packed afternoon in Zandvoort.
Post Race Comments
Reflecting on the race afterwards, Stroll said, “We managed to make up a lot of positions early on in the race with the right strategy calls and an early pit stop after the first stint. It felt great to bounce back in the race after a frustrating weekend starting from P19 and after the team worked so hard to rebuild the car on Friday and Saturday.” Alonso was more cautiously pleased, “The car had some good pace today and we finished in the points. We were unlucky with the timing of the Safety Cars in the race and unable to capitalise. We had some battles at the end after the second stop, and I felt faster than some of the cars that finished ahead of us.”
Both drivers were looking forward to the next race, in Monza, Italy, where they will be in just 5 days’ time.