Aston Martin Comments On 'Kiss' That Put Stroll Out Of Second Race

Monday, 11 March 2024 at 16:45

Updated at Tuesday, 12 March 2024 at 13:31

The Aston Martin team principal, Mike Krack, discussed the incident that put Lance Stroll out of the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Lance Stroll had a better qualifying session during the second race of the season than he had during the first. However, he still couldn't replicate the performance his teammate Fernando Alonso showed, which meant he had to start the race from P10.

Aston Martin and the Canadian driver hoped that he would be able to make his way through the field, but the race turned out to be more challenging than expected right from the first lap.

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The team principal, Mike Krack, explained that his team's cars weren't performing at the beginning of the race, putting both drivers under pressure.

"We were struggling in the beginning of the race with both cars, I don't know if you saw that. Both cars, the first five, six laps on the Mediums were really struggling. Fernando was passed by Oscar [Piastri] and Lance had the whole pack behind him."

Under pressure, Stroll had to push his car more, which resulted in a crucial error on lap 7. The 25-year-old hit the wall on the entry into turn 22 with his front left wheel and slid into the barrier in the run-off area.

His wheel was broken, and the car got stuck in the barrier, so it was immediately clear that the race was over for the Canadian driver. Commenting on the incident, Krack said:

"It's like a kiss. Fernando had one later. He [Stroll] unfortunately went off but nothing happened, he's okay. It's unforgiving."

Fernando Alonso had a similar incident in turn number 9, but his "kiss" of the wall was not as severe, and he could carry on with his race to bring home a P5. Krack added:

"You see circuits like this, they drive like millimetres from the walls. It's unfortunate but these things happen. We turn the page and move on."