Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll has had a tumultuous season, garnering just 47 points compared to his teammate Fernando Alonso’s impressive 174 points, marking a stark contrast within the team’s performance.
Stroll, who has been grappling with a series of setbacks, shared his perspective ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, acknowledging both his own shortcomings and the unfortunate circumstances that have hindered his performance.
“It’s been rough, it’s been a rough season, to be honest since the first few races, it’s kind of been difficult,” Stroll candidly admitted.
“A lot of stuff has happened, reliability issues, and unfortunate circumstances.
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“The speed, at times, has just been not really there. It’s just things to learn from, and now, there’s nothing we can do about it.
“The past bit of the season is gone; there’s nothing you can really do about it; you can’t go back in time.
“So, just sights set on this weekend and the remainder of the season and trying to just push forward and finish as strong as possible.”
When asked whether he believes certain situations were beyond his control, Stroll acknowledged his room for improvement as a driver.
“There are definitely things in my control,” he emphasised.
“I feel like there are things I can work on and improve to be faster. But there’s also been a huge amount of just unfortunate circumstances when I look throughout the year.”
Stroll highlighted several instances where ill-fate seemed to follow him on the racetrack, such as engine problems in Saudi Arabia, a pitstop misjudgment in Austria, and the wrong tire choice in Canada.
He lamented, “Just multiple things like that.
“Last week, running in a decent race at the start and having the wing failure, just things happening and missing out on opportunities to score big points.
“The end, sometimes it’s like that, but there are definitely things I can improve on, many things we can improve on as a group to be stronger.
“Now I’m just looking forward to the rest of the season and what we can do to finish strong.”
Despite his challenging season, Stroll expressed unwavering motivation. “It’s not hard.
“I mean, I get to race Formula 1 cars and go Grand Prix racing,” he affirmed.
“So it’s a great thing to do.
“I’m looking forward to every weekend, especially coming here, it’s a great track, a great weekend, high grip – I suspect – with the new tarmac, we don’t know.
“But last time we came here, it was super high grip, super fast track.
“Somewhere incredible to drive. So yeah, I’m looking forward to every weekend.”
Stroll’s season was further complicated by wrist injuries that forced him to miss pre-season testing.
Reflecting on the impact of this setback, he said, “For sure, there will naturally be [an impact].
“Missing the beginning of testing and a bunch of items that you try at that time of the year that you don’t really have as much of a chance to try throughout the season.”
Stroll went on to describe how the lost testing time affected his understanding of the car’s behavior, especially regarding mechanical and aero balance, cambers, and other crucial aspects.
While Stroll acknowledged the value of preseason testing, he also emphasised his performance when the car was under him.
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“It’s just a little bit sometimes, for sure,” he said.
“I always feel like there are test items and stuff that you try in preseason testing and prepare yourself for what the car does if you do this, that, or the other.
“I didn’t really get that time to try all those things.”