Top 10 finish for Lance in final race of the season

Following two fifth place finishes in a row at Sao Paulo and Las Vegas, Lance approached the final weekend of the season aiming to end the year on a positive note.

Practice

Lance survived a big slide at the final turn to go fifth in the opening session. The Canadian driver then followed that up with P13 in FP2 and P15 in the third and final practice.

Qualifying

In the first qualifying session, Lance put in a competitive lap time to claim the seventh fastest time, but P13 in Q2 would signal the end of his Saturday.

WATCH: 2023 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS

‍Grand Prix

Amidst the first lap melee, Lance made a daring move on the inside of Turn 5, moving himself up to P12 at Nico Hulkenberg’s expense.

By Lap 20, others ahead had pitted elevating Lance to P2. When he eventually pitted on Lap 23, he took on a second set of Hard tyres, committing himself to a two-stop race and re-joined in P15.

Lance wasted no time in dispatching Pierre Gasly for P14 and by the 26th tour – a lap on which he set the fastest time of the race – he was up into P12.

Just 10 laps later, Lance was back into seventh as others pitted. After a scrap with George Russell in the Mercedes, he was relegated to eighth.

A second and final stop for Lance took place on Lap 42, after which he re-joined the race in P13 on the Medium tyre.

Following a Lap 50 overtake on Esteban Ocon Lance was in P11, but a last lap pit stop for Carlos Sainz placed Lance P10 at the flag to claim the final point of the season.

WATCH: 2023 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX HIGHLIGHTS

‍

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

We elected to start the race on the Hard tyre and put in a long stint hoping for a Safety Car and a quick stop, but it didn’t play out like that, so we ended up running a two-stop strategy. Nevertheless, I think we were attacking well today and making progress throughout the field. We do tend to have better pace on a Sunday, and that was definitely the case today.

I’m pleased that we finished 2023 with some stronger performances that we can be proud of. It’s definitely been a year of learning – we’ve had ups and downs – but we’re in a good place heading into next year.