Formula 1: Lance Stroll apologizes, gets written warning for conduct at Qatar Grand Prix
Stroll pushed his personal trainer after climbing from his car in qualifying
Lance Stroll has apologized for his conduct at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Stroll’s apology comes as he was given a written warning by the FIA compliance officer for the way he acted during the race weekend. Stroll was seen pushing his personal trainer after climbing from his car during qualifying on Saturday.
The FIA announced earlier in the week that Stroll was in discussions with its compliance officer during the week. Friday, the FIA said it “maintains a zero-tolerance stance against misconduct and condemns any actions that may lead to physical harassment” and that Stroll had officially apologized.
It’s been a frustrating season for Stroll as he has been unable to come close to matching the performance of his Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso. That frustration was evident in a curt post-qualifying interview with Sky Sports.
As Alonso sits fourth in the points standings and is 11 points back of third, Stroll is in 10th and is just three points ahead of 12th place. Stroll is also just one of eight full-time drivers who have not scored a podium finish through the first 17 races of the season.
Saturday was the fourth consecutive time Stroll had been eliminated from the first round of qualifying. He started the race in 16th and climbed to 11th before the checkered flag but has failed to score points in each of the past five race weekends. He didn’t start the Singapore Grand Prix after he crashed out of qualifying while trying to advance to the second round.
Stroll’s last points finish came at Spa before the summer break. He finished ninth in that race and hasn’t had a top-six finish since he was sixth in the Spanish Grand Prix in May.
While Aston Martin’s pace relative to the rest of the field has decreased as the season has gone on, Stroll’s struggles are the reason why the team is at risk of getting passed by McLaren for fourth in the constructor’s standings. Aston Martin is just 11 points ahead of McLaren with five races to go as McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have become Max Verstappen’s main challengers recently. Unless Stroll finds some serious improvement over the remaining races, it’s all but certain that McLaren will pass Aston Martin.
Stroll, 24, is in his seventh season in F1. He has three career podium finishes and moved to the team now known as Aston Martin from Williams after the 2018 season when his father Lawrence Stroll purchased the assets of the former Force India team.
