FIA confirms double Lance Stroll punishment after Bahrain Grand Prix investigation
Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll in a press conference at the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia
SEPANG – Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll has been handed two separate warnings by the FIA stewards for driving unnecessarily slowly in Q1 and Q2 in qualifying at the Bahrain GP in Malaysia.
Aston Martin recorded its best qualifying result of the season in Sepang on Saturday as Stroll and teammate Fernando Alonso both reached Q2.
FIA confirms Lance Stroll decision after Bahrain Grand Prix investigation
Alonso set the 12th-fastest time in qualifying, with Stroll two places back in 14th.
Stroll found himself summoned by the FIA stewards for failing to follow the instructions of the FIA race director.
The charge related to driving unnecessarily slowly in both Q1 and Q2.
Following an investigation, the stewards have confirmed that Stroll has been warned twice, once for each offence.
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The stewards’ verdict read for the Q1 offence: “The Stewards heard from the Driver of Car 18 (Lance Stroll), the team representative and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, telemetry and in-car video evidence.
“Car 18 exceeded the maximum permitted SC2–SC1 time during Qualifying at 16:16:52.
“The driver and team explained that the configuration of the Power Unit requires a specific driving procedure during the out-laps.
“At this circuit, this made it particularly demanding for the Driver to manage his out-lap while at the same time meeting the prescribed SC2–SC1 time as accurately as possible.
“However, it does not relieve either the Driver or the Competitor of the obligation to comply with the prescribed maximum time.
“The Driver and Competitor remain responsible for operating the car, including its technical configuration, in a manner which enables compliance with the applicable regulations and the Race Director’s instructions.
“The Stewards also note that STR was able to comply with the prescribed SC2–SC1 time on at least one other out-lap during the same Qualifying session while operating under the same general operational requirements.
“The Stewards therefore did not consider that the Power Unit configuration made compliance impossible.
“Having considered the circumstances of the incident, the Stewards determine that the exceedance constitutes an infringement.
“Taking into account all of the above, and in particular that compliance with the prescribed time remained possible, the Stewards determine that the standard sanction of a Warning is appropriate.”
An identical statement was released for Stroll’s second offence.
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