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Difficult weekend in Sochi for Lance as he ends Formula One’s Russian Grand Prix in P11.
After a damp qualifying, weather conditions for the start of the race were perfectly dry as Lance lined up in P7 on a set of Medium compound Pirelli tyres.
As the lights went out, Lance made an incredible start, moving up three positions and into P4.
By lap 13 of the 53-lap race, Lance had maintained the position when the team opted for an early pitstop, switching from the Medium to the Hard tyres to rejoin the track in P15.
It wasn’t long before the Canadian driver began to make his way up the pack, capitalising on his early pitstop to improve to P8 by lap 29.
Lance attempted to hold onto P8 but, with Daniel Riccardo and Max Verstappen on fresher tyres, he was unable to fend on the pair and dropped down to P10.
With only eight laps remaining, the rain rolled in, and conditions took a turn for the worst.
As the rain increased, Lance pitted to change onto the Intermediate tyres, joining the circuit in P10 behind his teammate Sebastian Vettel.
With only three laps remaining, Lance collided with the barrier at Turn Eight but was able to re-join the track, making light contact with Pierre Gasly although both were able to continue.
In the face of the late strategy shakeup, Lance ended the race in P11, narrowly missing out on points.
Lance Stroll – Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Racing Driver
“It is a real shame that the change in weather cost us a strong chance of a good result and plenty of points. In hindsight, stopping one lap earlier for Intermediates could have changed our race, but it is always hard to judge when the conditions are evolving. I made the call for us to stay out and try to make it to the end, so it is down to me. It is even more disappointing considering we made a great start and got up to fourth in what was a really enjoyable battle in the first few corners. We made the undercut on George [Russell] later on, which worked out nicely, but the second stint on the Hard tyre was made more challenging by the DRS train of cars ahead, which always hurts the tyres, and then it rained. It became very slippery out there and I did not see Sebastian alongside me. We will learn from today and move on to Turkey in a few weeks’ time.”
Formula One will return for the Turkish Grand Prix on Friday October 8 from 9:30 BST for FP1.
