How a sprint race changes the dynamic of a Formula One weekend
Lawrence Edmundson discusses changes to teams and drivers for this weekend’s sprint race.
SPIELBERG, Austria – Lance Stroll has acknowledged the need to raise his level to match his Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso, but says his results so far do not paint an accurate picture of his season.
While Alonso scored six podiums in eight races for the fledgling British team, Stroll was sixth, fourth, sixth and ninth in the races he finished.
“I don’t think I’ve gotten the most out of my weekends, so I don’t think some real results have been shown,” Stroll said, reflecting on his career so far.
“There is definitely some work to do, things to improve. Fernando is at a very high level and I definitely have to work on some things and improve.”
Stroll’s start to the season was not perfect after breaking both wrists in a training accident prior to a pre-season test.
This forced him to race the Bahrain Grand Prix with pins in his wrists, which he has since removed.
“The season started strong, all things considered,” said Stroll.
“Bahrain, Jeddah and Melbourne I think were good, and then we hit a bit of a rough patch after Baku, but I know why.
“Miami was difficult because we didn’t put the second set of tires in the first quarter, Monaco we had some damage in the second quarter, Barcelona we were competitive again, and then in Canada we had some problems in the second quarter.
“I think there are reasons why it didn’t work, but in terms of direct speed, he was way ahead of me, he was faster, he was driving very well.”
When asked how the two-time champion compares to his former teammates, which include Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez, Stroll said: “Yes, he’s the best teammate ever, that’s for sure.”
While the comparison of their results is stark, Stroll believes the difference between him and Alonso at crucial moments was much smaller.
“It’s details and circumstances, like Miami trying to get out of Q1 on one set (of tyres)… He did the same thing as me, he just passed a tenth and I missed it by a tenth (of a second). I’m 17 and he’s going into Q3.
“Same thing in Monaco, we got ground damage, you can’t recover, you start 12th and 13th, where we started, and that cost us the weekend.
“The Canada session was really tough, but when I look at the other weekends, there were little details, things to work on, but it’s still faster, for sure, so I’m definitely, you know, focused on the things I’ve got to We work, and this weekend is another chance to do that.”