Lance Stroll has given a downbeat assessment of his prospects for the Dutch Grand Prix after a spin into the barriers during Qualifying put him out of the session, meaning that he will line up at the back of the grid in P20.
After a hefty crash in Friday’s Free Practice 2 cut short the Canadian’s running on that occasion, repair work from the Aston Martin team ensured that his car was ready for action again come Saturday.
However, following a P8 finish on the timesheets in FP3, Stroll’s Qualifying came to an early end when he dipped a wheel on the grass a few minutes into Q1, sending the AMR25 into a spin across the gravel before hitting the barriers. Click play on the video player above to watch the incident.
While Stroll was able to keep the car running and limp back to the pits, the damage was seemingly too extensive to send him back out on track, leaving him at the bottom of the order in 20th place.
Reflecting on the incident afterwards, Stroll explained: “I got a wheel on the grass and that was it. It’s really frustrating. Nothing more to say.
“We tried to repair what we could, but not possible…”
In terms of how he assesses his chances for the rest of the weekend at Zandvoort, the 26-year-old responded: “Ah, difficult, difficult. Our chances now are kind of done.”
On the other side of the garage, Fernando Alonso capitalised on the pace that Aston Martin had displayed on Friday – a day in which he ended FP2 in second place on the timesheets – by progressing through to Q3.
However, the Spaniard had to settle for the final spot in the top 10, having been unable to catch his rivals ahead.
Asked after the session if he was still pleased with his Qualifying efforts, Alonso answered: “Yeah, I think so. I think once you are in the top 10 it is already a target achieved on the weekend to enter Q3.
“Obviously when you are last in Q3, 10th is not the best starting position but it’s what we deserved today. It’s one tenth and a half in front of us [to] P9, so it’s not like it’s even close, so we need to get better for tomorrow.
“We have a different tyre selection than some other teams and hopefully tomorrow it pays off.”
The performance comes after a good outing for the squad just prior to the summer break in Hungary, giving Alonso additional hope for what can be achieved on Sunday at the Dutch Grand Prix.
“I think after Spa we needed some Q3 appearances and [to] feel competitive, so the last two weekends have been good,” the 44-year-old conceded.