Red flags across Friday sessions leave Lance on the fringes of the top 10

Free Practice One at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was the more indicative session of the two, due to the Pirelli tyre test in FP2.

As one of the first drivers out, Lance took to the track on the Hard compound and hit the top three, putting in a steady lap time of 1:24.769 in the early part of the session. Improving as the session developed, Lance switched to the Soft compound upon his second pitstop, putting in his best time of 1:21.865.

Practice was temporarily halted, as the Haas of its reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi, who was in the car in place of Kevin Magnussen, suffered MGU-K issues and came to a stop on the circuit.

The session resumed with 16 minutes on the clock, but was again stopped with four minutes to go, due to tyre issues for AlphaTauri’s rookie, Formula 2 frontrunner Liam Lawson.

FP1 was not to be resumed, meaning Lance was unable to head out for another out lap. He finished in thirteenth, completing 14 laps on the Soft compound.

Free Practice Two saw teams participate in the Pirelli tyre test, which was postponed from the Japanese GP due to extreme weather conditions at the time.

Lance had several outings on the tyres set for the 2023 season, completing a total of 23 laps on the unmarked compounds.

The 90-minute session was red flagged with 57 minutes remaining, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc lost the rear end of his car and hit the barriers. Practice then resumed with just 35 minutes remaining.

On his second run, Lance put in his best lap time of 1:22.840, before he settled into several longer runs on these tyres on high fuel.

As the tyres were being testing for the 2023 cars, the setup on the current cars was not optimal for the new Pirelli compounds. This meant that the session was not entirely representative of the weekend ahead.

A final red flag with just a few minutes on the clock, this time for Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, meant the final practice session for the day was not resumed, and Lance’s running came to an end.

He finished the session in 16th overall with 23 laps on the board.

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

“It was a fairly quiet Friday today. There is not much to say about FP2, due to the Pirelli tyre test, but it was certainly good to get some laps in throughout the day. We have improved the car a lot over the year, and it is starting to really show, even if the outright results today do not necessarily reflect that. On another note, I am really enjoying my time at this Grand Prix. The general vibe is really cool. It is a lot a fun both on the track and with the atmosphere.”