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Lance Stroll claims the AMR24 was tricky to drive in the qualifying ahead of the 2024 Chinese GP. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda after the qualifying session, the Canadian driver was hopeful for the race despite being disappointed with his qualifying result.
Unlike his teammate Fernando Alonso who qualified to third place on the grid, Lance Stroll got knocked out of Q2 by a narrow margin. He classified eleventh but Carlos Sainz who qualified further up is under investigation. The Ferrari driver had brought out the red flags and continued again in the session, which is currently being reviewed by the FIA. If the Ferrari driver is disqualified, the Aston Martin driver moves up to tenth place.
Asked by Sportskeeda where he lost time and what he could have done differently, Lance Stroll said:
“I think the car was tricky to drive today and hopefully we're stronger tomorrow.”
Asked if he had made a lot of changes to his car after the sprint race, the Aston Martin said:
“Yeah, quite a few changes, just because it was really difficult race for us this morning. We'll see if we can manage our tires better tomorrow.”
Asked if he was happy with his result, he added:
“No, I wanted to be in Q3 for sure. But we'll see what we can do tomorrow.”
Lance Stroll believes pitstop strategies in the Chinese GP will depend on the tire graining and degradation
Lance Stroll believes that it is difficult to predict whether a one-stop strategy or two-stop strategy will be the right option in the Chinese GP. He felt tire graining and degradation would be a deciding factor. The 25-year-old expects higher tire degradation due to the rough track surface but also highlighted that different weather conditions could be a blessing as the track evolves.
Asked if he expects a one-stop race or two-stop race, Lance Stroll said:
“Between one and two. It’s going to be about how the tires behave and if there’s graining and if there is higher degradation than expected. Difficult to say.”
Asked what he expected from his race, he said:
“A lot of degradation on this rough tarmac.”
On his tire wear in the morning race, he said:
“Yeah the tires this morning were really struggling. But we’ll see its going to be different track temperature tomorrow, track evolution, more rubber and stuff. So maybe it is easier on the tires.”
Lance Stroll finished 14th in the sprint race and was knocked out in the sprint shootout where he managed to qualify 15th. His teammate Alonso on the other hand was set to clinch a podium in the race but suffered damage from a clash and retired. Currently, Aston Martin are fifth in the constructors standings. The Canadian is placed tenth and his teammate, Alonso, is eighth in the drivers standings.
