After the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll found himself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. It was anticipated that he would be subject to a barrage of interrogation regarding his most recent outburst of anger, which had been clearly on display after his elimination from Q1 during the qualifying session of Friday’s main event. Footage captured by his onboard cameras had painted a concerning picture.
But according to the Canadian driver, as reported by Sky Sports, “We’re in a rut and it’s not getting better. Frustration is, I think, in the whole group right now. I mean, we want to do better, we want to get better, but it’s just a struggle right now.”
As a relatively new driver in the team with a much senior driver who is also a two-time World Champion, Fernando Alonso has influenced the need to perform better for Stroll.
Lance Stroll is seriously unwell after the finish of #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/LILYl11zW4
— Aston Martin F1 updates (@startonpole) October 8, 2023
After qualifying in the seventeenth spot which led to his fourth continuous Q1 elimination, his emotions got the best of him.
Lance Stroll was seen pushing his trainer Henry Howe aside in a fit of rage as he ran to the back of the team garage after throwing his steering wheel out of the car. The event was caught on tape and received harsh condemnation across a number of online communities.
Take a look at the infamous post-quali interview of Lance Stroll
His recent behavior did not go down well with the media as well as the spectators. Lance Stroll had to answer a couple of questions for the media and the to and fro questioning was quite hard to watch.
He said, “It was a disappointing qualifying session today. My first lap was deleted due to track limits and I had to abort my second due to traffic, so I had a big job to do for my final run. The car felt okay, but we just didn’t have the pace.”
Lance Stroll is in a mood, shoves his trainer and his interview responses are 7 words total pic.twitter.com/76mdAYzFuP
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) October 6, 2023
This comes as a contrast as his teammate, Alonso finished at the fourth spot behind Lewis Hamilton in the very same race.
When asked about his experience of the qualifying race, he commented, “Yeah, it’s sh*t.” Stroll believed nevertheless that his irrational reaction was a reflection of the dissatisfaction that had overtaken the whole Aston Martin staff.
The Lusail curbing caused issues for Formula 1, which forced them to change the track restrictions. The circuit was narrowed slightly in hazardous regions as a result of this change.
This change irked Lance Stroll a lot. He battled with the oppressive heat, as did a number of other drivers. The requirement to rely exclusively on visual paint marks to keep within the track boundaries only served to increase the discomfort.