Stroll expected a red flag in Baku

Lance Stroll has confessed his surprise at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix not being stopped with a red flag this past weekend, with various pieces of debris creating substantial blockages for the drivers on the track, making it dangerous territory at high-speed.

Valtteri Bottas suffered the most due to the debris, as he looked poised to claim his first Grand Prix victory of the 2018 season, only to suffer a puncture towards the end, gifting the win to his Mercedes team-mate, Lewis Hamilton.

Even though Hamilton claimed the flag in the end, he could be heard over the team radio complaining about the items on the track, and Stroll was quick to echo the statements of his colleague.

“Everywhere there was debris,” said Stroll.

“Turn one, turn three, the whole track.”

“I expected a red flag. There was way too much debris, they didn’t get the red flag out, I don’t know why.

“I thought it would’ve been better for everyone because the tyres were getting so cold, also. The Safety Car was going so slow so it probably would have made more sense to do like last year.

“Get a red flag, everyone gets new tyres, clear all the debris and we can go racing. Last year we had a very similar situation, the amount of debris on the track, it was clearly a red flag, there was no hesitation.

"But this time I don’t know why they kept the race going.”

Despite the issues for Stroll, it ended up being a positive race in the end for the Canadian as he finished in eighth to secure Williams' first points of the 2018 campaign.