Hungarian Grand Prix yields top ten finish for Lance Stroll

Lance made up four positions from his grid slot to take the final points-paying position.

After a challenging British Grand Prix weekend, Lance switched his focus to the Hungarian Grand Prix.

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Practice

Lance’s weekend started strongly with third in a sodden FP1, as many others were caught out in the worsening conditions.

FP2 wouldn’t be quite so encouraging for the Canadian, recording the 12th fastest lap time. He’d go one better in FP3 lying just outside of the top ten in P11.

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Qualifying

The trial qualifying format at the Hungarian Grand Prix meant that only the Hard tyre could be used in Q1, the Mediums in Q2, and the Softs in Q3.

During the first part of the session, Lance progressed with the 13th-fastest time but P14 in Q2 would signal the end of his qualifying efforts.

WATCH: 2023 British Grand Prix Qualifying Highlights

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Race start

Lance would make a superb start, making up four positions from his grid slot and breaking into the top ten by Lap 3.

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Pit stop

With Lance’s first trip to the pits completed and most of the early stops out of the way, the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One® Team driver emerged in ninth.

On Lap 20, his mirrors were filled with Charles Leclerc and with fresher Hard tyres aboard the scarlet Ferrari, Lance was unable to resist his advances, conceding the position at Turn 2.

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Race to the chequered flag

As the middle stints played out, Lance remained in an around the fringes of the top ten positions. With the Alpha Tauri of Tsunoda pitting from tenth, that elevated Lance to the final point-paying slot, a position he would hold until the chequered flag, just one position behind his Aston Martin team mate Fernando Alonso.

WATCH: 2023 British Grand Prix Highlights

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Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One® Team driver:

“I think P10 was the best we could have done today. I had a good first lap and I was happy with the move around the outside of [Valtteri] Bottas, but after that the pace just wasn’t up there. As a team, I think we have some work to do to try and understand what we can be doing better. The car is quick, but there’s more pace to unlock and that has to be our priority as the season continues. We’ll take these learnings into Spa next week where, as always, we’ll be pushing hard.”