A frustrating weekend in Baku

Aston Martin Aramco Formula One® Team driver, Lance Stroll, had a frustrating weekend at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he'd previously placed P7 in 2023.

Free Practice

The Free Practice sessions on Friday were disrupted by Red Flag periods as other drivers made contact with the wall.

Despite the interruptions, Lance was able to collect some good data for the team on the Medium and Soft tyre compounds. He finished FP1 in P13.

Lance’s pace looked good in FP2 where attention turned to Qualifying sims, and he finished inside the top ten in P7.

The final practice session saw more Red Flag interruptions which impacted running. Lance finished FP3 in P13.

WATCH: 2024 AZERBAIJAN FP3 HIGHLIGHTS

Qualifying

Lance set an early lap in Q1 on the Soft tyre before coming back out for another lap later in the session.

In the final few moments of Q1, Lance was in the drop zone. However, he set a faster final lap which saw him progress through to Q2 in P14.

After setting his time in the second part of Qualifying, Lance was unable to improve further. He ended his Qualifying session in P15.

WATCH: 2024 AZERBAIJAN QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS

Grand Prix

Lance started the Grand Prix in P13 after drivers ahead had penalties. He began the race on the Medium tyres.

On the opening lap, Lance had contact with Yuki Tsunoda through the tight sequence of corners. The contact resulted in Lance needing to pit at the end of the first lap due to a puncture. He emerged from his pit stop on the Hard compound and at the back of the field.

He made up a position to P18 in the following laps and pitted again on Lap 23 for another set of Hard compound tyres.

Towards the end of the Grand Prix, Lance was forced to pit again and retire the car due to a brake pedal issue.

WATCH: 2024 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX HIGHLIGHTS

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Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Aramco F1® driver, said:

My race was pretty much over on the first lap when [Yuki] Tsunoda and I made contact. I dived down the inside - I'm not sure if he saw me or not - but he closed the door and I had to pit with a puncture. We're all racing hard on the opening lap and these things happen, but it left us on the back foot for the rest of the race. With nine laps to go I started feeling an issue with the brake pedal and it was getting worse with each lap. This isn't a circuit to take any risks at, and we were well out of the points positions, so it made sense to retire the car. It's been a frustrating weekend, but I'm looking forward to Singapore.

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