Aston Martin had every reason to showboat this evening in Jeddah, their veteran Fernando Alonso did just that as he ended day one of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix fastest of all, by nearly a quarter of a second... but it's "only practice" he warned to temper expectations.
Of course on Thursday evening in Jeddah, immediately the Spaniard went top of the timing screens word was that the Aston Martins were dialled up for the occasion. After all, they are racing on Aramco's home soil, their title sponsor. Hence a Green car at the top of the timing screens gives them bragging rights for the dinners and parties after the session on Thursday. It's good PR!
Alonso's best time of 1:28.827s was 0.23s faster than next best George Russell in the Mercedes and Bahrain Grand Prix winner Max Verstappen a tenth further down in P3 with his Red Bull.
The night belonged to Alonso as teammate Stroll was half a second shy of what the veteran Spaniard was capable of extracting around the high-speed Jeddah Circuit in the apparently not-too-shabby AMR24. Time will tell if it flattered to deceive, meanwhile the Friday accolades go to the oldest man on the grid.
Alonso was inspired and half a second faster than Stroll
Perhaps also inspired by the arrival of Bob Bell, in his corner during the 2005-2006 Renault glory years, Alonso reported afterwards: "It's always a lot of fun to drive here. It's such a high-speed circuit and a great challenge. We had a positive day. We've shown good pace in both sessions and on different tyres.
"But it's only Free Practice and there are a lot of unknowns in terms of the programmes the other teams were running today. We'll look into the data tonight and aim to build on what's been a solid start to the weekend as we move towards Qualifying," added Alonso, who on Saturday will make his 380th Grand Pix start.
Dawdling relative to his teammate in the sister car, Stroll was still good for sixth which suggests both cars could be destined for Q3 in Qualifying on Friday evening.
The Canadian reported afterwards: "I felt good in the car today. It's always nice to be the fastest in any session, but it's only Free Practice so we will keep our feet on the ground and stay focused on ourselves. We don't know what the others have been doing in terms of engine modes and fuel loads.
"We shouldn't read into the times too much, but it's still been a positive day. We've had no issues with the car, completed our programme, and continued to hone the setup of the AMR24 to extract more performance," revealed Stroll.
Aston Martin AMR24 running circuit-specific rear wing and new front brake ducts
The British team added in their Friday report: "Much of the team's running in FP1 took place on the Hard tyres before a switch to Softs towards the end of the session, while experience of the Medium tyres was gained in FP2 before a move to Softs for Qualifying simulations.
"With air temperature close to 30°C and track temperature over 40°C, FP1 is unlikely to be representative of conditions faced in Qualifying and the race which will be held after sunset, making the data collected from FP2 even more valuable.
"As part of team's continuous development programme throughout the season AMR24 features a new, circuit-specific rear wing and new front brake ducts."
Aston Martin will be hoping for better than P9 (Alonso) and P10 (Stroll) they scored in Bahrain, with day one in Jeddah providing the 'home' team with positive headlines. Time will tell if this translates to Qualy pace as well as race pace when it matters.
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