In 2024, Lance Stroll wants to reduce the gap with his illustrious Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso, which started with good preparation in recent days in Bahrain.
This new Formula 1 season will begin next weekend, one which promises to be important for the Quebec driver and his team. Green single-seaters made a dizzying leap last year and expectations are now high.
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In the small Middle Eastern country, the 20 championship drivers traveled extensively around the Sakhir international circuit to familiarize themselves with their car and carry out various tests aimed at improving performance.
“We made good use of these days to test a lot of parts and configurations – the car behaved better and better every day – and we had no reliability problems. It’s still too early to make any big predictions, but I’m looking forward to the first race of the year next week,” Stroll told his team’s website on Friday.
The 25-year-old Montrealer has completed 196 laps over the past three days, with a high of 96 on Thursday. He set the sixth, seventh and eighth fastest times respectively, each time ahead of Alonso.
“The time spent in the car was precious to all of us; “We collected data and learned about the AMR24 with every lap we completed,” Stroll assured.
Without the injuries
The one who will already be starting an eighth season in F1, a fourth at Aston Martin, will be better prepared than in 2023. He had to miss the winter tests since he had to treat fractures in both wrists and the big toe of his right foot.
“It was great to be in Bahrain for the tests,” Stroll said. I’m especially delighted to have been able to be there after missing last year’s preparation.”
No way it will happen again, he joked earlier this week that he filled his apartment with pillows to avoid any injuries. He obviously stayed away from his bike, the source of his problems.
In 2023 in Sakhir, Stroll took eighth place in qualifying before finishing sixth in the race. A first podium since 2020 is in the young man’s sights.