Also on Stroll's DNF:"Fernando's engine had shown wear in the last few laps, so the podium had even more merit:
In the final stages of the test, one of the six cylinders of his Mercedes engine began to show signs of exhaustion. It was not a major failure, but it took power from the package.
With a change in the electronics that manages the ignition, and adjusting the power delivery of the Energy Recovery System, he was able to alleviate the situation without excessively affecting the general behavior of the car."
Link: https://theobjective.com/motor/2023-03- ... los-motor/"- It was not a fault, but a break.
- When his car reached the pits, his mechanics detected that the exhaust pipe was hanging off.
- The kinetic energy of the blow had been transmitted vertically, had damaged the floor and part of the accumulator of the energy recovery system. And the same for a string of sensors in that area.
- The reason for this blow was his fight with Sainz, Lance ran over a kerb and hit the belly of the car with excessive force.
- When the team noticed the breakage, they called him in to avoid further damage."
Also, another hint that the simulator-track overall correlation is going well on Aston Martin: Alonso did say that his Aston AMR23 was “a little bit closer” to Red Bull on race pace in Jeddah relative to Bahrain, exactly how the simulator had said according to Stroll's personal trainer two weeks earlier.