Lance Stroll had reasons to be positive after the race in Malaysia, despite F1 making a joke out of itself in general. The Canadian driver started from P14, and eventually finished 12th.
Coming to Sepang, Aston Martin had already seen quite a few upgrades compared to the car that struggled through pre-season testing. However, finishes, let alone in the points were few and far between. Luckily for the Silverstone outfit the Malaysian track is not that power sensitive and also lacked grip, meaning they expected to have a better outing this time as their chassis is quite strong now.
“We knew it was going to be a better track for us,” Stroll confirmed. “Less power limited, more grip limited. That help us for sure.“
Unfortunately, before the race could get on, a monsoon delayed the start of the race, before a software glitch during the formation laps delayed the start again. A lucky break for Stroll, who initially went out on slicks instead of intermediates.
“Slippery, yeah, slippery,” Stroll called the conditions. “I went out on the dry tyres and stopped on the intermediate for the race start. And then, yeah, it was very tricky conditions.”
Stroll feels he missed out on points finish
When the race eventually got underway, the track had dried significantly already. A missed opportunity according to the one-time pole sitter.
“Yeah, we missed some good racing, I think. The wet tyres at the beginning […] should have been out there running. Several cars are fixing their software issues. It’s a bit sad to see.”
However, looking back at the race, he felt he missed an opportunity to score points. Despite being close to the top 10 as he finished just behind Nico Hülkenberg at the flag, the emphasis on tyre management on hards meant he couldn’t attack as much as he wanted to.
“We did the wrong choice and then came in the pits for the inters, which was the right choice starting from pit lane.
“Then once getting into the race, we were in the mix for the top ten, and then the last stint on hard, too much management.
“I think the hard tyre was pretty robust, could have pushed more, lost a couple of positions, finished 12th instead of a possible points finish.
Stroll wasn’t the only one on the wrong tyre at the beginning, as more drivers opted for the dry weather slicks. A tough call to make, according to the Aston Martin driver.
“Yeah, very tough to tell,” he explained. “No one was out, just looking at pictures and people in the grandstands, taking pictures and all that. Yeah, it was tricky.
“I was surprised how slippery it was when we got out there.”
