Lance secures top-five finish from Sao Paulo Sprint weekend

With his Mexico Grand Prix retirement firmly in the rear-view mirror, Lance headed to Interlagos for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, an event at which he secured points in 2022.

Practice

Lance was sixth fastest in the weekend’s only practice session, and second of the Medium tyre runners.

Qualifying

Another sixth-fastest time in Q1 allowed him to comfortably progress through to the second stage of qualifying.

Then, in Q2, Lance was the final driver to sneak through to Q3. The team opted to save tyres and sat out the final runs of the session, so he sat patiently in the garage waiting for those who could deny him. The Alpine drivers looked to be a threat but each fell by the wayside enabling Lance to continue into Q3.

In the final part of the session, ominously dark rain clouds lurked in the distance, and so the drivers were eager to record a banker lap. Lance’s effort placed him third in the times, and as rain began to fall, second runs were abandoned securing his place on the second row.

WATCH: 2023 SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS

Sprint shootout

After the highs of qualifying, Lance was denied the chance for a final attempt because of a red flag in Sprint Shootout 1, so would line up in P17 for the Sprint.

WATCH: 2023 SAO PAULO SPRINT SHOOTOUT HIGHLIGHTS

Sprint

The Canadian driver began his comeback as soon the lights went out, gaining one position on the opening lap at Valtteri Bottas’ expense.

By Lap 7, he’d also made his way past Nico Hulkenberg and another seven laps later, his rise through the order continued as he took P13.

As if his overtakes earlier in the race weren’t enough, Lance made a superb overtake on Pierre Gasly around the outside of Curva de Sol on Lap 18.

He held the position until the chequered flag on Lap 24 finishing P12.

WATCH: 2023 SAO PAULO SPRINT HIGHLIGHTS

Grand Prix

In the Grand Prix proper, the drivers behind Lance had superior getaways and he dropped to fifth.

Likewise, following the red flag restart, others got off the line quicker and he dropped to seventh.

A first pitstop for Lance came on Lap 23 as he made the switch to Medium tyres.

Shortly after his stop, Lance used his new tyres to close in on, and then pass the Mercedes of George Russell for ninth on Lap 25. He followed that up with a similar move on Lewis Hamilton into Turn 1 on Lap 27.

From there, Lance held position until his second pit stop on Lap 53 when he pitted for Softs. He re-joined the race in sixth, just ahead of the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz. When Yuki Tsunoda pitted ahead, the #18 driver was elevated to fifth where he stayed until the chequered flag.

WATCH: 2023 SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX HIGHLIGHTS

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Lance Stroll – Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One™ Team Driver:

“Neither of my starts were great – I had a lot of wheelspin and very little traction, so I didn’t get off the line well. But after that we had a lot of pace – quicker than Ferrari, quicker than Mercedes – and it felt like we were back to where we were at the beginning of the year. Today’s result gives us the belief that we can go out and fight for points in these final two races. Finally, a big shout out to the whole team – the last few races have been tough but today is a real reward and sends us home with smiles on our faces after three weeks on the road. I’m looking forward to Vegas!”