Top four pace for Lance on Friday in Austin

Lance finished in fourth place in Friday’s first Free Practice in Texas.

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Lance immediately took to the track at the start of FP1 on a set of Hard tyres to make full use of the session ahead of the afternoon’s Pirelli tyre test.

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The Canadian quickly put himself into second in the timesheet with a 1.42.440 before a brief red flag halted track action after Antonio Giovinazzi made contact with the barrier.

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After continuing on his set of Hard tyres once the session resumed, Lance switched onto the Soft tyres and put in his best time of the morning with a 1.37.460 to take him to the top of the timings. He was unable to hold onto the position for long, ending FP1 in fourth place after extending his time on the Hard tyre at the end of the session.

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In the 90-minute FP2 session, the entire field tested two different unmarked Prototype Pirelli compounds set for use in 2023.

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After a delayed start to his session for some set-up changes, Lance slotted into 15th place before returning to the pits.

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Lance, like the rest of the field, completed 26 laps of the American circuit during the tyre test, completing 13 laps on each set of tyres – a performance run of five laps and a long run of eight laps, putting in his best time of the session with a 1.40.806 to end the day in 15th position.

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

“It felt pretty good out there today, but tomorrow’s practice session will probably give a better indication of where we stack up in this really close midfield. We were able to focus on both long and short runs despite the reduced running in FP1, so that was useful. But, we still have speed to find and a few things we can tweak here and there to find some performance. Everyone is in the same boat in terms of preparation this weekend due to the tyre test. On those tyres we ran this afternoon, it was difficult to generate heat quickly with the cooler tyre blankets.”

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