Lance Stroll has set out to build from a strong end to the 2023 Formula 1 season this year whilst outlining what he needs from the Aston Martin AMR24 to help him succeed.
The Canadian entered the 2023 season on the back foot, hampered by a cycling accident that left him with fractures in both wrists that caused him to miss pre-season testing.
Stroll’s fight to make the grid for the season opener and subsequent battle through injury in the first rounds of 2023 was somewhat overshadowed by team-mate Fernando Alonso’s run of six podiums in eight races.
In the mid-season, Stroll’s form dipped and a run of six Grands Prix from Hungary to Qatar saw him fail to crack the top 10 places.
However, four top-10s and two top-five finishes in the final five rounds of the year has given Stroll a surer footing moving forward.
“I know why things at times were tough last year,” Stroll told media including Motorsport Week ahead of Monday’s launch of the AMR24.
“I mean, there was a lot of good in last year, too and we finished strong.
“So, yeah, I’m just focused on building on that really.”
Aston Martin suffered its own mid-season slump in 2023, starting the year as Red Bull’s closest challenger but slipping behind Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren via a series of unsuccessful upgrades as the year wore on.
Technical Director Dan Fallows laid out the mandate for the AMR24, calling it a “strong evolution” of last year’s car, that is designed to have a larger operating window across multiple types of circuit, whilst also being a suitable foundation to accept upgrades throughout the year.
Stroll admitted that he’s “very excited” about the AMR24 and his thoughts align with Fallows’ regarding ensuring that its development is sustained across this campaign.
“We’re trying to really build on last year’s car,” he added. “We had a strong car last year, definitely, opening up the season. You know, we came out really strong.
“[There were] some weaknesses, you know, in the car, certain tracks.
“Some of those weaknesses were exposed, and we struggled with a lot more as a team.
“The whole factory’s been working really, really hard on building from last year, improving some of the weaknesses, and also building on the strengths of last year’s car.
“We want to also really build from race one to race 24 and, you know, make the car stronger and stronger throughout the year.”
Asked what he specifically needs from the car to be more competitive, Stroll said it was hard to “pinpoint” before the season gets underway and that pre-season testing will afford him and the team to find the necessary “adjustments” to improve their collective performance.
A big factor at play in Stroll’s struggles for form last year was the comparison to his highly experienced team-mate Alonso, who finished the year 134 points ahead.
Team Principal Mike Krack has previously stated Stroll’s best run of form was masked by injury at the start of the season and the Canadian driver admitted that whilst Alonso “was just quicker” at times throughout the year, luck had its part to play.
“I don’t like to use the word luck, but I think we had a lot of misfortune last year,” he addressed.
“I think that kind of made things more challenging, when we were fighting for good positions last year there were a lot of races where we had technical issues.
“You know, we had things just didn’t go our way.”
Stroll is determined to “come back physically a bit stronger” in 2024 and has set his targets for the coming campaign.
“I think about what I can do better, how I can be better,” he added.
“You know, every year is very different in Formula One, depends a lot on where the car’s at, depends a lot on many factors.
“I would like to see us definitely, you know, fight for some big results this year, score a lot of points, fight for podiums, and a win in green would be nice.”
“Alonso, who finished the year 134 points ahead.” In any other team, Lance would end up driving a taxi in Montreal!