Lance collects points at season opener in Formula One's Bahrain Grand Prix

Lance secures first points of 2021 in Formula 1’s Bahrain Grand Prix as he crosses the line in P10.

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Starting the race on the used Soft (C4) Compound Pirelli tyres, Lance was able to make up one position from P10 to P9 ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz before a crash at Turn 3 for Haas driver Nikita Mazepin brought out a safety car.

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Capitalising on an incident for Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly, Lance gained another position into P8. Despite contact with Sainz during lap 4, Lance was able to maintain his position and continue hunting down Alpine’s Fernando Alonso before a virtual safety car was deployed to retrieve debris from the track.

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With the track cleared, Lance continued his mission towards the front of the grid, snatching P7 from Alonso. However, after Alonso pitted for fresh tyres, the Aston Martin team opted to also pit Lance on lap 12 for a fresh set of Medium (C3) Compound Pirelli tyres and it wasn’t long before Lance was holding off the veteran Spaniard for P9.

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Lance advanced into P8, holding the position until his second pit stop and changing to a new set of Hard (C2) Compound Pirelli tyres on lap 29 to take him to the end of the race and exiting pitlane in P15. However, he quickly began making up places, climbing to P13 by lap 30 and then onto P10.

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As the laps ticked down and he continued to pick up positions, moving into P7, the Canadian driver battled with ex-teammate and current Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez as the pair fought tooth and nail to gain the position, but Lance was able to keep the Mexican driver at bay to hold onto P7 throughout lap 40 but eventually had to yield to Perez.

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As the chequered flag waved, Lance crossed the line to end the Bahrain Grand Prix in P10 and take one point away in the first race of 2021.

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Lance Stroll – Aston Martin Racing Driver

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“I’m pleased to come away with a point, but it is fair to say we wanted more from today. We had a strong first half of the race and we made up some positions. I felt comfortable in the car and we were racing hard against the cars around us. We tailed off a little bit in the second half of the race on the hard tyres, but there are plenty of positives to take away. I enjoyed some good battles too, especially with Fernando (Alonso) early on. We know there are some areas where we can improve and everything we have learned this weekend will help us in the races to come. We have a few weeks before the next race to work on those things.”

Lance will return to track action in Italy on Friday April 16 for FP1 at 10:30am BST.

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