A tough weekend in Qatar

Aston Martin Aramco Formula One® Team driver, Lance Stroll, did not finish the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix, where he’d previously finished P11 in 2023.

Starting strong in Free Practice

An all-important practice began Friday’s action in Qatar, and Lance used the 60-minute session to complete runs on the Medium compound tyre, collecting data for the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team.

Unlike other drivers, Lance was in clear air around the circuit, so he was able to get some clean laps in.

After pitting for the Soft tyre in the final ten minutes, Lance finished the session in P7.

WATCH: 2024 QATAR FP1 HIGHLIGHTS

P14 in Sprint Qualifying

Lance was one of the first drivers out on the track in SQ1 and initially set a time that put him P3.

The track continued to evolve with more drivers setting personal bests.

With clear air around him on track, he set his final flying lap which saw him rise to P6. He progressed to SQ2 in P10.

In SQ2, Lance began the segment in the top ten. However, after coming across traffic on his final run, he lost time and ultimately finished the session in P14, marking the end of his Sprint Qualifying.

WATCH: 2024 QATAR SPRINT QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS

A quiet Sprint

Lance began the Sprint from P14 on the Medium tyre.

In the opening lap he was able to make up a place and was running in P13.

He concluded the final Sprint of the year in P13.

WATCH: 2024 QATAR SPRINT HIGHLIGHTS

Lance qualifies P15

Lance was straight out onto the track in Q1 on a fresh set of Soft tyres. He set a good benchmark time on his first flying lap before pitting.

He continued to set times within the top ten and successfully got through to Q2 in P13.

He held P13 after his first flying lap of Q2 and, after pitting for another fresh set of soft tyres, went out for his final lap of the segment.

A snap at Turn 1 meant Lance lost some time on his final lap. He ultimately concluded the qualifying session in P15 with a time of 1:21.911.

WATCH: 2024 QATAR QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS

An early end to the Grand Prix

Lance began the Qatar Grand Prix on the Medium tyre.

On the opening lap, Lance was involved in an incident with Alex Albon which meant he had to pit at the end of the Lap 1.

He switched to the Hard tyre and caught up with the pack which were behind the Safety Car.

Lance came into the pits again on Lap 7 to serve a ten-second time penalty for his earlier incident and switched to another set of Hard tyres.

He shortly returned to the pit lane after reporting an issue that was impacting his performance. The team retired the car, cutting Lance’s Qatar Grand Prix short.

Lance’s season will continue on 6-8 December with the season finale, the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

WATCH: 2024 QATAR GRAND PRIX HIGHLIGHTS

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

“The car wasn’t feeling right from the start of the race. I locked the front left at Turn 2 which was strange because it’s not really a corner you brake that much for. Then at Turn 5 I made contact with Alex [Albon] which was completely unintentional. I wasn’t trying to race him; I was just trying to hold my line on the inside of the corner, but I picked up huge levels of understeer. I think maybe my tyres weren’t working properly because I couldn’t do anything about it. It’s a shame to retire from the race but we’ll go again in Abu Dhabi next weekend.”