While Fernando Alonso considers that he may have performed ‘below par’ in relation to Aston Martin’s position in the hierarchy (NDR, below par, is an expression that comes from golf which means that he performed above expectations and not below like many judge) his teammate Lance Stroll had a difficult qualifying session that led to his elimination in Q1.
But, taking into account the car’s performance, Lance Stroll could be one of those who should deserve attention in the race, as with a competitive car and as he tries to fight to get out of 16th place on the grid, points are still an objective for the Canadian.
But if he is not able to make enough progress, then the door is open for one of the drivers outside the top five teams to score points again, with Yuki Tsunoda continuing his good form in qualifying so far.
Tsunoda has reached Q3 in three consecutive weekends and will start from 10th place in front of his home crowd as he looks to score points for the first time at Suzuka. But he also has his teammate Daniel Ricciardo starting right behind him, in 11th place, who promised to “enter the top 10 early” as he looks for his first points of the season.
Nico Hulkenberg and Valtteri Bottas also performed well, in 12th and 13th place, respectively, with Hulkenberg trying to achieve his third consecutive Top 10 this weekend and Bottas trying to get the Kick Sauber to score in 2024. In addition to this just Williams and Alpine have not yet scored.