Lance Stroll labelled his Hungarian Grand Prix as “boring” after Williams struggled for pace throughout the course of the weekend.
Williams had feared that the layout of the Hungaroring would not suit its FW40 package and such thoughts were realised, as Stroll was eliminated in Q1, and lined up from 17th place on the grid.
Stroll moved up a couple of positions at the start, through virtue of incidents elsewhere, but made no further progress, gaining a place only when Renault’s Nico Hülkenberg retired late on, to come home in 14th spot.
“It was quite a boring race, I was driving alone the whole time, so not much happened and we didn't have the pace this weekend to stay with the others,” explained Stroll
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-120x86.webp)
“I tried everything I could in the first stint to hold the other guys, and I was doing okay. Then, in the second stint, I tried the undercut but I just didn’t have the pace and overheated the rears too much.
“We kind of finished where we started, and we expected that.
“All in all, it was a tough weekend, but we now need to look forward to the other kind of tracks – Spa, Monza – that should be better for our car.”
Stroll’s team-mate Paul di Resta, standing in for the unwell Felipe Massa, admitted he adopted a cautious approach before retiring during the closing stages due to an oil leak.
“Jumping straight in the car with no experience of the different tyre compounds or running on high fuel [wasn’t easy],” he said.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect so I went in with an open mind. You have to be very aware of the space around you, and how much downforce you lose when there’s traffic around you.
“So I was cautious and just wanted to keep my nose clean. We went a different way on strategy, but the biggest thing for me was just gaining the confidence as the runs went on and I was feeling more comfortable with the car.
“It would have been nice to finish, without the oil leak, but overall I’m not too dissatisfied with where I was given how little running I’d had.”
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-350x250.webp)
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