Finishing P13 in the Austrian grand prix, Lance Stroll has made a damning declaration that a stagnant lack of pace and improvement is the reason his Aston Martin team have dropped to the back of the grid.
Fresh off a brand new multi-year contract extension, Stroll would have hoped for a better way to celebrate the announcement, instead what he received was a harsh wake up call.
Coming into the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix, Aston Martin were a team that were fighting for podiums and wins. The round before Austria, in Montreal, Fernando Alonso even picked up a superb second place.
Comparing that to where the Silverstone based outfit sit now, in the round before this year’s Austrian GP, neither car scored points and both finished a lap down from the lead.
With a difficult race at Barcelona out of the way, Aston Martin fans would have been hoping for a better result. They were not so lucky.
Instead Aston backed up the Spanish result in Austria, finishing in 13th and 18th, both a lap down.
At the start, the Canadian got hit by Sargeant but continued without any issues.
“Yeah, lap one. Boink.”
This was not a surprise to Stroll, who openly admitted that is the level the team is operating at currently and it was the expected result coming into the weekend.
“It’s what we expected. It’s where we are.
“Canada suited our car, the last two knew wouldn’t suit our car. That’s what we get.”
Where the competition has improved around them, Aston Martin have been left floundering, multiple upgrade packages have not produced the expected performance, going from having the second fastest car early last year, to being the seventh or eighth in the pecking order last weekend.
When asked if at any time throughout the race he thought he would be fighting further up the grid, Stroll dismissed the question with a swift negative response.
“No, the pace just hasn’t been there. The same as Barcelona.
“[We] just need a much faster car if you want to fight for points and good results.”
