Qualifying in sixth place at the Australian Grand Prix, Lance Stroll managed to hold his position throughout the race, as red flags and restarts created chaos across the grid.
When cars set off after the second restart, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz collided with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, sending the two-time world champion into the gravel.
Avoiding the crash, Stroll picked up a provisional P3 spot before locking up at turn 3 and going off track into the gravel, almost crashing into the barrier, throwing away his podium shot.
With officials ultimately resetting the race for a third time, reverting the starting order of the second restart, Stroll was handed back his sixth place position, which became fourth due to Pierre Gasly’s crash and Sainz’s penalty.
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“There was sadness and disappointment when the race was stopped again but then, crossing the finish line, very happy with the result,” Stroll said after the race.
“I was pretty heartbroken in Turn 3, with a couple of laps to go, when I picked up a right front lock defending from Carlos and I thought I had thrown away a podium finish. It would have been hard to sleep if it had finished like that.
“The tyres were just ice cold, I already felt it coming out of Turn 2, just picking up the power I had a big snap, and then, heading into Turn 3, I was defending from Carlos, he was obviously on my outside and I was on the dirty part of the track.
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“As soon as I touched the brakes the front right just started locking up and there was no slowing down the car.
“I was lucky to even bring it back, because as we saw [in qualifying] Pérez got beached there, so we were lucky to get the car back,” he added.
Alonso’s third consecutive podium finish and Stroll’s fourth place kept Aston Martin in second place in the Constructors’ Championship, nine points clear of Mercedes and 58 points behind Red Bull.