Lance Stroll unearths positives after "scary" 200mph blowout

Stroll in Azerbaijan — Photo: © LAT Images

Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Stroll unearths positives after "scary" 200mph blowout

Stroll crashed at the end of lap 30

Sam Hall

Monday 7 June 2021 20:30

Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll was able to dig out the positives from a wretched Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend that concluded with his "scary" high-speed shunt.

After crashing in qualifying that resulted in the Canadian starting from 19th, Stroll was up to fifth in the race after being the only driver to start on the hard Pirelli tyres when a blowout at 200mph pitched him into a concrete wall.

Stroll mercifully emerged uninjured, but after the second accident in as many days, he was left to reflect on a weekend to forget in contrast to team-mate Sebastian Vettel who finished second behind race-winner Sergio Perez in his Red Bull.

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“It was scary in the moment but I didn’t hit anything hard so I’m just frustrated about the race," said Stroll.

"We had good pace. I think we were looking quite good up until that point, going very long and overcutting some cars so it is a shame in the end.

"It was a challenging weekend for me, but there are positives to take, especially our race pace, and, of course, the podium for Sebastian.”

Aston Martin looking for answers

Shortly after the race reached its conclusion, Pirelli tyre boss Mario Isola confirmed the failures on both Stroll and Max Verstappen's cars were not wear related and were likely to have been the result of running over debris.

For team principal Otmar Szafnauer, it was a bittersweet day given the contrasting fortunes of both his drivers.

“Lance suffered a DNF through no fault of his own, having made very impressive progress in the early laps," said Szafnauer.

"He was soon running in the points, making the overcut strategy work well, and was driving superbly on hard tyres when it all came to an end for him in a spectacular way.

"We are investigating the cause of the accident, together with Pirelli."

As for Vettel, Szafnauer proclaimed it "a brilliant result for everyone in our team and the first podium for Aston Martin in Formula 1 history".

He added: "In summary, both Lance and Sebastian showed that we have the race pace to compete at the very front of the midfield, or better, and that is what both of them will be aiming to do as the rest of the season unfolds.”