The first Grand Prix of the year began with adversity for Quebecer Lance Stroll.
On Saturday, on the first lap of the race presented in Bahrain, the Aston Martin team driver was hit from behind by Nico Hülkenberg (Haas) and slipped to last place.
Stroll, however, pulled himself together and patiently climbed the rankings to finish the event in 10e place and write a point.
“It feels good to score a point after falling last in the first round,” said the man whose comments were reported by the Aston Martin website.
“I had a good start, but then I was hit by Nico [Hülkenberg] and I fell to the back of the pack. I knew it would be a long race from there, but I focused on tire management and made a few passes on track. The team also gave me a good strategy.”
“We know we have work to do to develop the AMR24 and get a little more pace, but it’s a long season and we’re going to keep pushing,” Stroll added.
Just behind Alonso
By taking the 10e Rank, Stroll finished the race just after his teammate Fernando Alonso.
“We achieved our goal of scoring points with both our cars and it’s a good way to start the new season,” said Aston Martin boss Mike Krack.
“We have certainly optimized things, given our race pace, and scoring points is a reward for the team’s hard work over the last few weeks. It was a brilliant recovery from Lance after being hit in the first corner.”
The great F1 circus will now move to Saudi Arabia for the second Grand Prix of the 2024 campaign.