Aston Martin boss Andy Cowell has explained why Lance Stroll has continued to struggle in its Formula 1 car, despite the team’s recent upturn in competitiveness.
The Silverstone-based squad has witnessed performances improve since the Belgian Grand Prix, with the following race, the Hungarian Grand Prix, a turning point.
Fernando Alonso finished fifth in the Hungaroring, eighth at Zandvoort, and took seventh at Singapore, with points also likely at Monza prior to a suspension issue.
Despite finishing seventh in Hungary and seventh – ahead of Alonso – at Zandvoort, Stroll was nowhere near his team-mate at Monza and laboured to 17th in Baku.
Singapore also marked another hard race for the Canadian, coming home in 13th in his AMR25, as Aston Martin gambled on an ambitious strategy to try and score.
Alonso is known for excelling in his adaptability to cars, which has seen Stroll appear left behind in some of those races.
And so despite stability and speed increasing, it is still proving to be a challenge, Stroll describing the car as a “lottery” in terms of his feeling with it.
The Canadian added that he hasn’t felt “harmony in the car for a long time”, prompting Cowell to be questioned about the problems his driver is facing.
After the race at the Marina Bay Circuit, Cowell said “our car is especially hard to drive, we’ve made improvements compared to last year, but it’s still exceptionally hard to drive.
“Some of his commentary was frustration at feeling like he should have been able to get through Q1, but he hasn’t been able to get through.
“But I think that’s down to us not giving him practice time before, that’s a lesson for us.”
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