Fernando Alonso “pleased” with Dutch GP qualifying as Lance Stroll remains frustrated

Fernando Alonso has expressed his delight with his starting position after qualifying at the Dutch Grand Prix. The 44-year-old detailed how pleased he was with what he and the Aston Martin team achieved at the Zandvoort circuit.

The Spanish driver, who had looked on par with the frontrunners through the weekend, showed how fast he was again as he progressed through to the final stages of qualifying. However, he could only muster a 10th-place starting position after his final qualifying runs.

While the 10th place might not have been what many would have expected of the two-time world champion, considering the pace he has shown through the weekend, Alonso himself was pleased with his performance, and during his interaction with the media, he stressed how tricky the weather had been and how easily a driver could get caught out. He said (via Aston Martin's official website):

"We aim to be in Q3 every weekend, and so we're pleased we've achieved that today, but we seemed to be lacking some pace compared to yesterday. There were some tricky wind conditions out there, and it was easy to get caught out.

"It's difficult to overtake here, so we'll see what we can do from P10 and hopefully fight for some points."

While Fernando Alonso still managed to place his Aston Martin car in the upper half of the grid, the same could not be said of teammate Lance Stroll. The Canadian driver witnessed his promising weekend fast become one to forget, as he suffered two major crashes through the first two days of the weekend.

Stroll suffered a massive shunt during the second practice session. After several hours of repairs to his car, he suffered another heading into turn one at the commencement of qualifying. The 26-year-old will start the Grand Prix in last place.

Aston Martin team boss hopeful of points from Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin team boss, Mike Krack, weighed in on the qualifying session of his drivers at the Dutch Grand Prix. The 53-year-old expressed optimism about Fernando Alonso recording points for the team in Zandvoort.

Krack spoke to the media following the conclusion of qualifying and detailed how competitive the team has been through the weekend. The motorsports executive also highlighted how he aims to see both drivers progress through the race.

"We have looked competitive across the practice sessions, but Qualifying is when it really counts, and we did not maximize our potential today. Fernando made Q3 and will line up in P10, which gives us a good chance to bring home some points tomorrow. Lance's session ended early when he picked up damage after contact with the barriers.”

"We should have some decent race pace, but it’s not easy to overtake here. Let's see what we can do tomorrow to allow both cars to move up the field."

The Aston Martin team, particularly with Fernando Alonso, has been on an impressive run of form. Last time out at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the veteran Spaniard finished in fifth place to record his best finish of the campaign so far.