Lance Stroll experienced mechanical difficulties during the first practice session of the United States Grand Prix race weekend, adding to the Aston Martin driver’s recent troubles.
The 2023 season has been challenging for Aston Martin to keep up after a great start, but on the other hand Lance Stroll has deteriorated significantly in recent weeks. The 24-year-old is under more pressure over his future in Formula 1 as he has not scored points in any of his past five races.
Following mid-season updates to the AMR23, Stroll has acknowledged experiencing issues with the Aston Martin car, but his distinguished teammate Fernando Alonso remains relentless in battling for points.
Stroll was forced to withdraw from the race at Singapore after suffering a severe crash during qualifying. This was the first in a series of incidents that made the British team’s morale deteriorate.
The situation looked to approach a boiling pitch in Qatar. After being disqualified from qualifying early, a frustrated Stroll let out his rage by shoving his trainer as he got out of the car.
Aston Martin’s weekend in Austin started off below expectations, which has nothing to do with Stroll, but it has made things worse.
As a result of overheated front left brake discs in FP1, his Aston Martin AMR23 could only complete five laps before needing to pit. In consequence of his lack of running, Stroll eventually finished the session last among the 20 cars and will now be running behind the rest of the contenders for the weekend’s run schedule.
In light of the issue, Stroll will only have completed two laps before qualifying. As a result, he will be dealing with his fifth consecutive Q1 elimination.
His teammate, Fernando Alonso also spent some time in the garage while his mechanics investigated whether he was experiencing a similar problem, but the two-time World Champion eventually returned to the track.
Stroll will be needed for the team to collect more points in the remaining five races considering Aston Martin and McLaren are now in a close competition for fourth place in the constructors’ championship.
Unfortunately, it appears that Alonso might be alone this weekend once more.
