Lance Stroll had another difficult qualifying on Friday in Qatar, he was eliminated in the first segment (Q1) and will start the Grand Prix in 17th place.
The Quebecer has never been particularly vocal in an interview, but his frustration was palpable in his short answers to reporters. The Aston Martin driver will start in the last five for the third time in a row.
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“Lance, we saw how frustrated you were on the TV screens. This is all very important for you. What feelings are you feeling right now?” he was asked by a media representative and answered with a simple “yes”.
“What’s not clicking with you behind the wheel lately?” the journalist continued.
“I don’t know,” Stroll said, adding that his goal is to “keep running.”
In qualifying, the Montrealer’s best time was 1 minute and 26.345 seconds. He finished more than a second behind his teammate Fernando Alonso (1:25.223), who finished fourth in the third qualifying session.
The gesture too much?
Stroll was reportedly seen still frustrated as he pushed a mechanic out of his stall in the pits. According to journalist Chris Medland, his teammate asked him to weigh himself in front of the garage, but not wanting to hear anything, he continued on his way. In a video that is causing much discussion on social media, it is not clear whether Stroll actually pushes the mechanic or whether he hits a wall.
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) took pole position by being the only driver to go under 1 minute and 24 seconds. Lando Norris (McLaren) was scheduled to start alongside him on the front row, but his best lap was taken away from him when he exceeded the track limits. The same fate befell his colleague Oscar Piastri, who was temporarily fourth. The two men and the Australian learned of their fate during his interview after they returned to the pit lane.
The Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will ultimately follow Verstappen onto the grid.
It’s a busy weekend for Formula 1, with a sprint race taking place on Saturday ahead of the Grand Prix the following day. A short qualifying session takes place before the sprint event.