Lance gets to grips with wet weather in Japan

As Formula One returned to Japan for the first time in three years, the first and second Free Practice sessions were held under wet weather conditions.

While the C1, C2 and C3 compounds are on offer this weekend, all drivers were on track on the Full Wet or Intermediate tyres. 

In FP1, Lance was amongst the first few drivers to hit the track, taking to the circuit on Full Wet tyres.Upon completing two laps, he returned to the pits after reporting that the rain had eased up on sections of the track. 

The Canadian returned to the circuit on Intermediate tyres, putting in a lap time of 1:46.373 and getting himself up to sixth.

The rain then started coming down heavier, though Lance managed to best his time, finishing a lap at 1:44.570.

After completing five laps on these tyres and with just over 11 minutes on the clock, Lance returned to the pits, along with the majority of the runners. He finished the session in 14th after some further running on the Full Wet tyre, just ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon. 

With a Pirelli tyre test due to be held as an extension of FP2, the session was due to be 30 minutes longer than the standard one hour slot. Due to the extreme wet weather however, the tyre test was cancelled, though the extended session time remained.

After spending over 30 minutes in the garage, Lance emerged onto the circuit in sub-optimal conditions on Intermediate tyres. Completing five laps before returning to the pits, he managed a best time of 1:47.387, surpassing his last set time from FP1. 

After a brief pitstop he returned to the track, this time managing a time of 1:46.966 after another five laps.

The Aston Martin driver was one of few drivers who remained on track as the session came towards its last 30minutes of running.

Despite completing 21 laps on the tyre, the Intermediate proved to be wearing down in the middle, and therefore proved to be a challenging set of tyres for Lance to improve on in the conditions as the session came to its conclusion. 

He ended the session in 18th position, after completing a total of 31 laps across the two practice sessions. 
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Lance Stroll – Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One™ Team Driver

“Despite the wet weather today, we were able to learn some things here and there on the track. Tomorrow will be a complete reset, with it expected to be dry, although there is still a chance of rain on Sunday. If the conditions are like this in the race, then what we have learned today will definitely come in handy. Either way, I am loving being back in Japan; the energy is great and the circuit is fantastic, even in these conditions.”

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