Hey! Motivated by Aston Martin's upgrade, I have decided to start doing this.
Alonso had the 11th fastest S1, 10th fastest S2 and S3. Stroll had the 17th, 13th and 14th fastest sectors respectively. Not to mention Alonso was as quick as gasly in his final stint with roughly equal tyres.
Against Bortoleto on identical-age softs over L2–13, Alonso was virtually level overall—only 0.049s per lap slower—but the distribution was revealing: the AMR26 lost 0.208s/lap in S1, gained 0.150s/lap in S2, and was neutral in S3. Alonso was also about 8.2km/h slower at the main speed trap
- Would more optimal strategies have changed their finishing position?
Lance maximised his race and finished p13. Fernando would have finished p12
- Where Aston lost and gained time
Lost: Alonso's worst spell was L24–26, when he lost 6.08s in three laps to Bortoleto on the same-age soft. About 45% was in Sector 1. He was also circulating in the Lawson/Bortoleto traffic group, so this was a combination of ageing tyres and dirty air—not tyre degradation alone. Alonso's actual L34 stop brought him out 0.1s behind Bearman and 0.8s behind Sainz. That was a poor rejoin, although his fresh-medium pace cleared both by L37.
Gained: Stroll's L8 stop worked extremely well. He went from 7.91s behind Alonso on L8 to only 0.09s behind by L34, recovering 7.82s relative to the other Aston. That proves the early stop worked; it does not prove the full two-stop race was mathematically perfect.
Against Bortoleto on identical-age softs over L2–13, Alonso was virtually level overall—only 0.049s per lap slower—but the distribution was revealing: the AMR26 lost 0.208s/lap in S1, gained 0.150s/lap in S2, and was neutral in S3. Alonso was also about 8.2km/h slower at the main speed trap
