Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll reflects on a disappointing race weekend in Monza. The Canadian crossed the finish line last, more than a full lap behind winner Max Verstappen. The 27-year-old driver, who is not known for his groundbreaking post-race interviews, was notably terse after the Grand Prix. Aston Martin’s top executive, Mike Krack, later defended the ‘frustrated’ Stroll.
While teammate Fernando Alonso had to prematurely end the Italian GP due to a defective suspension, Stroll was the last man standing in his Aston Martin on Sunday. His strategy of running almost fifty laps on one set of tires proved costly. After the race, F1TV asked him if this unusual choice had indeed cost him a good result. “Yes,” he sighed. Did he have anything to add about the race? No, it seemed; silence followed behind the microphone.
Stroll was then asked about the incident with Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman had pushed him off the track and received a five-second time penalty and one penalty point on his license for it. Again, there was an awkward silence. Could Stroll perhaps mention something positive about the weekend for Aston Martin? “Not much,” he said, sounding bored. Okay, did he then agree with the penalty for Ocon? “I have nothing to say about it,” he responded, shrugging his shoulders. He then abruptly ended the interview.
‘Frustration is Normal’
Aston Martin track officer Mike Krack later addressed the press – naturally, he was asked about Lance Stroll‘s bored demeanor. Was his driver upset about the chosen strategy? “No, I think in these kinds of situations, where you have a race with virtually no degradation and you start at the back, you just have to hope for opportunities,” he responded. “We always take into account safety cars after our pit stops, so we said: ‘Let’s just wait until this one comes out’. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Then it’s normal to feel a certain degree of frustration. You push to the limit, but fight for nothing. Then frustration is normal.”
Finally, Krack pointed to a problem in the pit lane. Possibly, Aston Martin lost a lot of time there for Stroll. “We had to keep him in the pits longer than necessary,” concluded the Luxembourger. “Fortunately, we have the log data, so we will definitely analyze this.”
