Lance Stroll finished sixth in the Spanish Grand Prix. ahead of his partner in Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso. A good result for the Canadian driver even if he could not stand up to the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Both finished on the podium in surprising fashion.
And after the race Stroll recounted the ordeal to keep up with the silver arrows: “Mercedes had a rocket. I don’t know where they got that rhythm from…”.
“I expected us to be the fastest car after Red Bull. I really expected it after seeing the previous races this year. But we just didn’t have it,” said the Canadian driver in statements reported by ‘Motorsport’.
Degradation was a big problem for Aston Martins. A problem that to date they had not had. “We had a lot of degradation and we didn’t have the pace compared to Mercedes andFerrari. Red Bull is in another league. We just didn’t have that advantage,” Stroll said.
And he detailed how the wheels went down: “At the beginning of the first stint, when we were third, I felt comfortable keeping the difference with Carlos Sainz, even moving away from Lewis Hamilton a bit. But then, about five laps into the race, they didn’t have any more rhythm and I felt the tires go flat.”
Alonso did not attack him
When Alonso caught up with him in the race, he insisted on the radio that “zero risk”, that his intention was not to overtake Lance. “We respect each other as teammates and we want to score as many points as possible for the team. In those situations, it sucks to have an accident for those few points,” said the Canadian.
And he sentenced: “It is more about ending the car in one piece. All the guys who work so hard in the factory deserve that…”
