Albon rages at Haas for sabotaging Q2 lap, Why Stroll pulled out of Spanish GP, and other big updates

Albon rages at Haas for sabotaging Q2 lap

Alexander Albon was furious during Spanish GP qualifying after getting stuck behind Oliver Bearman’s Haas, calling the team “dirty” over the radio and accusing them of deliberately ruining his final lap in Q2. He missed out on Q3 by just 0.03 seconds and believed Bearman purposely drove slowly in sector three to screw him over. Though he later admitted Bearman didn’t force him to brake, Albon said the dirty air from the Haas made it impossible to finish the lap cleanly. With limited practice time, setup issues, and only one set of fresh tires for Q2, Albon said the weekend had already been a mess, and this was the final blow.

Click here to read the full article by Phillip van Osten (f1i.com)

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Why Stroll pulled out of Spanish GP

Lance Stroll pulled out of the Spanish Grand Prix because the pain in his right hand got worse after qualifying. The injury came from a cycling crash in 2023, and he had been dealing with it for six weeks. He tried to race but had to stop after Saturday, and Aston Martin couldn’t replace him because the rules don’t allow driver changes after qualifying. The team also got a warning for not telling the FIA right away when Stroll missed the weigh-in after qualifying.

Click here to read the full article by Filip Cleeren (motorsport.com)

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How Barcelona GP validated Aston Martin’s Imola gains

Fernando Alonso said the Spanish Grand Prix showed that Aston Martin’s upgrades from Imola really worked. The team was able to stay in the top 10 during practice and qualifying, which was a big improvement. Alonso said the Barcelona race weekend was a good test and proved the car got better after Imola. He also said the team made progress since they struggled in Miami and feels hopeful about what’s coming next.

Click here to read the full article by Harry Whitfield (motorsportweek.com)

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Hamilton slams wing clampdown as wasteful

Lewis Hamilton said the new rules to stop front wings from bending are a waste of money. The rules started at the Spanish Grand Prix but didn’t change how the cars perform. Even though the wings bend less now, teams still had to spend money to change their designs. Hamilton thinks that money could have been used for better things, like charity.

Click here to read the full article at pitpass.com

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Newey not sold on Aston’s new toy

Aston Martin believes it has built the best Formula 1 facility of any team in its bid to become a championship winner. Signing Adrian Newey from Red Bull was a huge coup — but when he revealed in Monaco that the new driver-in-loop simulator isn’t correlating with reality and could take two years to optimize, did the team realize one of its biggest investments might already be falling short?