Lance Stroll believes a misguided tyre switch in a damp qualifying session at Formula 1‘s Las Vegas Grand Prix wiped out a second-row start.
The Aston Martin driver will start in 12th despite showing pace in the early stages. Meanwhile, team-mate Fernando Alonso secured seventh.
An earlier deluge meant the opening session had to be navigated on the Wet compound, which Stroll concluded up in fourth on the timesheets.
The Canadian then maintained that momentum through the opening exchanges in Q2 as he slotted into second place with his first timed lap.
Then came the turning point. Aston Martin opted to move him onto Intermediate tyres while others stayed put on wets, expecting the track to improve enough.
That window never fully transpired. Stroll completed just two flying laps, not the three the team promised, and he missed out on a place in the top-10 shootout.
Asked whether the call was bold, Stroll was blunt and told media including Motorsport Week: “No, just stupid in the end. Not the team’s fault, it was a group decision.”
He stressed that the plan hinged on being able to execute the full run.
“But I was told I was going to get three push [laps], I only got two push,” he continued. “That’s where it went wrong.
“So, yeah, shame. We threw away a good opportunity today to fight for the top… probably top three, top four.
“With three push I was pretty confident we were going to make something good happen. But with the two push, there was no chance. So, yeah, that’s where it went wrong.”
Alonso, though, praised the team’s approach, citing Aston Martin’s earlier call to venture out on the Wets in Q1 rather than the Intermediates was the correct choice.
“Even if we said many times we are not as competitive as we would like and the car is not as fast as we hope, the team is always focused, determined to extract the maximum result every weekend,” he said.
“Today was another good example. So as I said, happy for the team, happy for them. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”
READ MORE – Lance Stroll bites back at Franco Colapinto criticism with ‘try and score some points’ remark
Discussion about this post