Lance left disappointed after promising weekend in Jeddah

Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team driver, Lance Stroll, was left disappointed at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after facing an early race retirement from an otherwise promising weekend at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Lance entered the second round of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship following a positive opening race in Bahrain where the 25-year-old rallied to a top-10 finish following a spin on lap one.

As one of the most challenging circuits on the F1 calendar, Jeddah requires confidence and precision, and Lance maximised his track time in practice to enter Qualifying and the race in a good position.

The Canadian ranked ninth in FP1 but improved his pace to place sixth in FP2 where, in cooler conditions, he focused on long-distance running and one-lap performance.

Lance continued to show good form on Saturday by setting the seventh-fastest time in FP3 and extracted incredible speed from his AMR24 in the first part of Qualifying by ending Q1 in second place with a 1:28.250 run.

He built on this performance in Q2 where, with a 1:28.578, he secured his place in the pole position shootout before going on to qualify 10th.

With the pace to score points, Lance was set for a strong performance in Saturday’s Grand Prix and made immediate ground off the line by overtaking Yuki Tsunoda for ninth.

He quickly settled into the race’s rhythm, but unfortunately clipped the barriers on the entry to Turn 22 on lap seven and was forced to retire with terminal damage.

Lance will return to action on March 22-24 for the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.

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Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team Driver:

"A disappointing way to conclude a good weekend. I’d been pushing really hard in those opening laps – the cars around us were definitely faster and the tyres were already struggling. I was trying to build a gap and just clipped the wall.

"There are positives to take away, the team has scored points in both races and we feel there’s more pace to unlock in the car. I’m already looking ahead to Australia – it’s a race and a country that I really enjoy and I’m sure we can pick up the momentum again.”