After clipping the inside barrier at Turn 22 on lap 6 when running P9, Lance Stroll’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix came to a premature end.
At the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Stroll moved up the rankings after starting in tenth place; on the very first lap, he passed Yuki Tsunoda to gain a spot.
However, on Lap 6 of 50, the Canadian make an unforced error as he crashed into the barrier on the entry to turn 22 which caused suspension damage and sent him into the wall on the exit. Despite escaping uninjured, Stroll was forced to retire from the race, joining Pierre Gasly of Alpine as the only other retiree.
Stroll had already made contact with the turn 22 barrier in practice one, making this his second error at the same corner in 3 days.
On the incident, Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack stated that the crash occurred after a “kiss” with the barrier.
The Canadian is determined to get back on track before the next race in Australia after admitting that a “mistake” caused the accident in the early parts of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Stroll further stated that the strategy would be to “reset and go to Australia” during the 2-week break.
Reviewing Stroll’s tough race, Krack reiterated that the team’s slow start on the medium compound was the root of all their problems.
Alonso was overtaken by Piastri for P4 on the second lap, with the Canadian having dropped almost 4s behind Hamilton and facing pressure from Tsunoda and Bearman before his error.
“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.
“So we need to understand what happened there, they had to really push to keep up.”
Saudi Arabia is certainly a bogey track for Stroll. He has yet to score a single point at the Jeddah venue and has just one on the board following the opening two races of this campaign.
“A disappointing way to conclude a good weekend,” the 25-year-old added when he pondered on his weekend. “I’d been pushing really hard in those opening laps – the cars around us were definitely faster and the tyres were already struggling. I was trying to build a gap and just clipped the wall.
“There are positives to take away, the team has scored points in both races and we feel there’s more pace to unlock in the car. I’m already looking ahead to Australia – it’s a race and a country that I really enjoy and I’m sure we can pick up the momentum again.”
Teammate Alonso nearly joined Stroll on the sidelines as he clipped the wall at turn 9 in the first sector, but he managed to avoid suspension damage and finished the race in a strong fifth place.
According to Krack, drivers find the high-speed venue “unforgiving” due to the proximity of the walls to them and the changes of tapping one.
“It’s like a kiss,” Krack said regarding Stroll’s incident. ”Fernando had one later.
“He [Stroll] unfortunately went off but nothing happened, he’s okay. It’s unforgiving.
“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.”
