Lance Stroll says Aston Martin needs more downforce and power
lance stroll says Aston Martin still needs more downforce and power after the team made a step forward at the Miami Grand Prix. The 27-year-old called the Canadian Grand Prix his favourite race of the year as Aston Martin heads into Montreal trying to build on a weekend that finally put both cars at the finish.
Stroll and Miami
“It's great. I look forward to this weekend all season,” Stroll said on Thursday's media day ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix. He added: “It's my favourite race of the year. I love the track. The fans, the energy, the whole city gets really into the race weekend.”
Miami gave Aston Martin something tangible to work with. Stroll said the team fixed the vibrations there, and both cars reached the chequered flag for the first time this season. He called that a step forward, not a final answer.
Montreal And The Upgrade Plan
The next target is simple enough. “Now we just need to find a lot more downforce and power, so when we do that, we'll be in better shape, so that's what we're focused on,” Stroll said. He also said Aston Martin has an upgrade for Spa, or the race after Spa, possibly Zandvoort.
That package is not expected to solve everything. “Is it going to be enough to fight for the front? No, but these things don't happen overnight,” he said. “Everyone's pushing as hard as possible, and we're doing everything we can to bring as much lap time to the car as quickly as we can.”
Fernando Alonso In Montreal
Fernando Alonso framed the Montreal weekend more narrowly. “Every weekend has a different target,” he said, adding that Aston Martin does not have any performance upgrades for this race.
Instead, Alonso said the focus is on driveability and on optimizing what the team already has. “I think the mission we have now is to be close to the team and try to improve all together as soon as possible, and for that we need to be united and, from the cockpit, try to feedback the best way we can to the engineers and to the designers,” he said.
That leaves Montreal as a test of whether the Miami step forward can hold without new parts, while the bigger gains stay tied to Spa, the race after Spa, or possibly Zandvoort. For Stroll, the home race offers a clean read on where Aston Martin sits before those later upgrades arrive.
