Alonso confirms Aston Martin improved PU vibrations

F1 Grand Prix, GP Miami, Miami

Aston Martin left Saturday in Miami with a clearer sense of their limitations, a touch more optimism than on Friday, and a strategic outlook shaped almost entirely by circumstance rather than raw performance.

With no meaningful upgrades on the AMR24 and a car that continues to sit on the wrong side of the midfield divide, the team leaned heavily on execution, tyre understanding and adaptability — especially with rain looming over Sunday’s Grand Prix.

The team was the only one bold enough to start the Sprint on the soft C5 tyre, a decision that ultimately proved valuable. Not because it transformed their finishing positions — Fernando Alonso came home 15th, Lance Stroll 17th — but because it demonstrated that the soft compound could survive 19 laps in race conditions.

That information may yet matter. If Sunday’s race begins on a damp but drying track, or if early Safety Cars compress the field, Aston Martin now knows the soft tyre is not the liability many expected.

Saturday’s main qualifying session brought marginal improvement. Alonso and Stroll both out‑qualified the Cadillacs, a small but meaningful step for a team without upgrades while rivals continue to bring new parts.

Alonso finished 18th (1:31.098), Stroll 19th (1:31.164) — not positions to celebrate, but enough to show the car was at least more predictable than it had been on Friday.

Alonso noted the improvement but made clear the day was far from smooth: “I feel performance in Qualifying improved a little compared to yesterday and the Sprint, and it’s a relief that the PU vibration issues have improved which was a big focus over the break.

"Unfortunately, we had some gearbox issues which limited us, so we need to understand them tonight and try and fix things for tomorrow. We haven’t run in the wet yet, so if the weather changes it will be a learning experience for us and everyone on the grid. Let’s see what we can do.”

Stroll echoed the sense of incremental progress, while pointing to execution issues that cost him a shot at Q2: “It felt like we made some small progress since Sprint Qualifying yesterday.

"We had some issues with traffic on the last run in Q1 and didn’t get the tyres in the right window so lost time there. We know the areas we need to work on and improve, but that’s going to take time. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow, the weather will play a big factor for everyone.”