Lance Stroll ‘pretty angry’ with Miami strategy: ‘It wasn’t good enough’

Jamie Woodhouse
Lance Stroll arrives in the paddock. Bahrain March 2023.

Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll arrives in the paddock ahead of the season opener. Bahrain March 2023.

Lance Stroll could not hide his frustration with a Miami Grand Prix which yielded no points, arguing that Aston Martin’s race strategy call was “not good enough”.

The Canadian racer was going into race day rather on the back foot, following his surprise elimination in the opening Q1 stage of qualifying.

With an anticipated pace advantage on the cars around him, Stroll looked to make the alternate strategy work in his favour by starting on the hard compound tyre, which would then offer him a grip advantage later in the race when switching to the medium rubber.

And while there was something of a recovery effort from Stroll, going from P18 on the grid to P12 at the chequered flag, it was not the kind of comeback he had in mind, with zero points scored.

Aston Martin can be forgiven for putting faith in that strategy, considering how it helped Max Verstappen to go from P9 on the grid to victory, but it was a call which had left a bitter taste in Stroll’s mouth, even if he knew pre-race that it would be “difficult to get much out of it” without a helping hand like a Safety Car.

PlanetF1.com recommends

Aston Martin’s warning for Fernando Alonso as Spaniard wants more than just podiums

Lance Stroll addresses the haters who don’t believe he belongs in F1

Asked if satisfaction can be taken from the fact that team-mate Fernando Alonso scored the team’s fourth podium of F1 2023, Stroll, as per Motorsport.com, replied: “Of course it’s good for the team, but I’m pretty angry about my weekend. Just no points, I wanted to achieve more.

“I think it just wasn’t the right strategy. It wasn’t good enough.

“I just felt like I was a bit stuck in traffic and not much was happening in the race. I just wanted to know what was going on and maybe do a different strategy.

“It was just a tough race, there was a DRS train all the time. And yes, the damage was done [in qualifying]. We will talk about it though. I think it was just a tough race. I mean, there was no tyre wear and it was difficult to overtake. When there’s no wear and you can’t really overtake, it’s always difficult when you start from the back.”

With Stroll failing to build on his tally of 27 points so far for the season, it leaves him P8 in the Drivers’ Championship and now 48 points behind team-mate Alonso.