After qualifying marked by the rain, the Quebecer Lance Stroll will start in 12e position at the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Styria, Austria, Sunday.
Stroll, on Racing Point, managed to reach the second phase of qualifying on Saturday, but his time of 1 min 19.645 s placed him at 13e echelon, just behind the two Ferrari cars and the surprising George Russell (Williams).
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Stroll, however, gained a spot a few minutes after qualifying, as Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was awarded a three-position penalty on the starting grid.
“We were competitive in Q1 and Q2, but we lost grip at a crucial time and that made us miss Q3 by a bit,” said Stroll on his team site. We will have to check this overnight and we will come back stronger for the race. We know we have a good car on a dry track, so we can hope to go up a few positions tomorrow [dimanche] and reach our goal of scoring. “
Champion Lewis Hamilton, driving his Mercedes, took the lead position, ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull). Stroll teammate Sergio Pérez was disappointed with a short day and a 17e place.
When the rain gets involved …
The third free practice session was canceled in the morning and qualifying was delayed due to thunderstorms.
The outcome of the qualifications remains very disappointing for Stroll and Pérez. Friday, they did very well in the first two heats of free practice. At one point, with the persistent rain and the weather forecast for Sunday, it was even believed that the second session would serve as qualifications. In such a scenario, Pérez (third) and Stroll (fourth) could have started the second Grand Prix of the season in the second row.
Their work will ultimately be much more complicated, but with the changing weather, everything seems possible.
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