Lance Stroll returned to action at the F1 Canadian GP after missing out on the main race in Spain. Stroll complained of discomfort in his right wrist, which underwent surgery after a biking accident in 2023. The Canadian went through another round of surgery ahead of the home race.
The local boy would have loved to make a strong comeback, especially in front of the home support. However, things did not stick to plan as he only managed a P18 finish in the qualifying. Things only got worse for Stroll in the race as he ended last among the finishers, P17.
The 26-year-old remained among the backmarkers throughout the race. A 10-second time penalty for running Pierre Gasly wide off the track rubbed salt in Stroll’s wounds. After serving his penalty on his second pit stop during Lap 53, Stroll came out last behind the pack and finished the race there.
His teammate Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, is enjoying a more positive run, lately. After scoring his first points at the Spanish GP (2), the Spaniard bagged another six at the Canadian GP. Naturally, a positive review of the car was on the cards from Alonso. However, Stroll does not agree with the assessment.
“I don’t really feel any difference in the cars,” said Stroll post-Canadian GP in the print media pen. “Maybe he’s [Alonso] just been getting good results and he feels good in the car because of that, but… I don’t know. I felt pretty slow today.”
Speaking about his own race, Stroll admitted that the setback during qualifying cost him dearly after a Q1 exit.
“I mean, from the back, it’s always going to be difficult today, so, yeah, it’s a challenging day,” he revealed.
Stroll reacts to F1 Canadian GP penalty; Draws ‘no positives’ from home race
Running in P17, Stroll got close enough to mount an attack on Gasly as the race proceeded to Lap 45. The Canadian got his chance at the hairpin and made a clinical overtake.
Things, however, went downhill as he defended the position after getting ahead of Gasly. Stroll did not leave enough space for the Frenchman on the outside line, running him wide on the grass. Gasly had to take further evasive action by missing the chicane.
On the radio, he promptly complained, “Yeah, that’s a penalty. He pushed me wide.”
Soon, the FIA stewards obliged as the home hero got a 10-second penalty.
Stroll was, however, unsure whether he left enough space for the Alpine driver and admitted that he needed to take a second look at the incident to arrive at a conclusion. “I have to look at it. I don’t know,” he said.
What bothered Stroll more was the lack of positives to take away from the Canadian GP race weekend. Furthermore, he remained pessimistic about the possibility that the car could improve not just before the next round in Austria, but the entire remaining season.
“I have no positives to take away from it,” opined Stroll.
“Just, I know we’re slow and I have a good feeling that it’s going to be the case against Austria because the car has some characteristics that never change,” he added.
“And there’s probably limitations that I feel that never change, so it’s probably just going to be the same again and again and again.”
