Ranked tenth on Sunday, at the end of the Grand Prix de France, Lance Stroll did not hide his satisfaction at having collected a fourth point this season.
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“I’m happy with this tenth place,” said the Quebec driver. It’s as if I had spent 90 minutes in an oven it was so hot. Our pace was surprisingly better in the race than I expected.
“I was able to resist the threat of some of my opponents and it’s comforting both for me and for the team,” he added.
After another very disappointing qualifying session, where, for the fourth time in a row, he was eliminated in the first round (Q1) on Saturday, Stroll gained five positions in the first round, he who started from 15th place when the red lights went out.
“I had a good start, explained Stroll, and that gave me confidence. I’m starting to tame the behavior of my car and that bodes well for the future. »
Collision avoided with Vettel
The last lap could have been catastrophic for the Aston Martin team because a collision was narrowly avoided with his teammate Sebastian Vettel at the exit of the last corner.
“It was borderline, recognized Stroll, but everything was under control. I had more difficulty with my tires at the end of the race, but I was able to stay ahead of him. »
Vettel, on the other hand, said he was frustrated at having been unable to score any points, claiming that the heavy traffic prevented him from progressing.
“We lacked a bit of performance, said the quadruple world champion, to overtake certain rivals. But at least the single-seater was less capricious and that’s a good sign. »
Abandonment for Latifi
Taking advantage of developments on his Williams for the first time, Nicholas Latifi proved to be more competitive than usual, even if his team-mate, Alexander Albon, made him look bad again.
“There are a lot of positives to take away,” said the Toronto driver. I realized that I could finally fight with riders who were faster than me at the start of the year. »
Latifi, however, did not see the checkered flag. A collision with Kevin Magnussen (Haas) forced him to retire at 38e of the 53 laps of the race.
“Honestly, I don’t think I was responsible for the accident with Kevin,” Latifi said. It’s a shame because a good result [sans terminer parmi les dix premiers on s’entend] would have been possible. »
In the “300” club
Lewis Hamilton has still not won a race this year, but his second place and the presence of his teammate George Russell on the third step of the podium tend to prove that the Mercedes team is progressing at a good pace.
Yesterday, the Brit was competing in the 300e Grand Prix of his distinguished career to become the sixth F1 driver to reach this milestone.
Kimi Raikkonen (350), Fernando Alonso (346), Rubens Barrichello (323), Michael Schumacher (307) and Jenson Button (306) preceded him.