Lance Stroll will compete at the Las Vegas Grand Prix in ’19e After being penalized by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) in qualifying on Friday evening, he ended up in first place.
The Quebecer had reached 14th place with a time of 1 minute and 34.199 seconds in the second section (Q2), but received a five-place penalty for overtaking Carlos Sainz of the Ferrari team while a double yellow flag was raised .
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The Montreal native failed to qualify for the third quarter.
Despite everything, Stroll felt good, even if he admits that this penalty certainly won’t help him in the race.
“I felt pretty good in the car today and was happy with my last lap, but I think we were just missing some straight-line speed in the second quarter,” he said in comments posted on his team Aston Martin’s website were published. It can be the difference between being eliminated and making it to Q3 when the field is so close.”
“Race tomorrow [dimanche] It will be difficult given my starting penalty, but we have good pace in the corners and I think we can manage our tires well. […] We will make the best of the situation and enjoy racing on the streets of Las Vegas.”
His teammate Fernando Alonso starts ninth, although he achieved the tenth best time in qualifying (1 min. 33.555 sec.).