A few days before the Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix, Lance Stroll concedes a lead of 93 points over his team-mate Fernando Alonso. In the second half of the season, the Quebecer will try to close the gap.
Of the four teams topping the constructors’ championship this season – Red Bull, Mercedes, Aston Martin and Ferrari – Stroll is the driver with the fewest points. At 44, he is eighth in the table, 30 points behind Charles Leclerc.
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“He’s a bit faster at the moment and gets more out of the car than I do,” he said at a press conference about Alonso on Thursday. I need to keep improving on certain points to be stronger in the second half of the season.
Stroll quickly recalled all the misfortunes that befell him in 2023. Topping the list are broken wrists, which forced him to retire from early-season testing, and damage to his car, which hampered his qualifying performance.
Not easy
The Hungaroring, north-east of Budapest, was the scene of Alonso’s maiden win in 2003. It has now been a decade since the Spanish veteran won in Formula 1, since the Spanish Grand Prix in 2013.
“The Hungarian Ring is a very technical track with a lot of corners and twists. It’s a very different challenge for the cars and drivers than at Silverstone, Stroll said, according to the Aston Martin website. Stylistically, it is more reminiscent of a go-kart track with its tight sequence of curves and a real straight. So we hope it fits the AMR23.”
“Overtaking can be difficult, so we’ll try to find a good rhythm in free practice to make sure we put in a good performance in qualifying on Saturday,” continued the Quebecer.
In the UK two weeks ago, Stroll had to settle for 14th place while Alonso was seventh. Free practice in Hungary starts on Friday.