Despite a minor incident that cut his first free practice session in half, Lance Stroll had a promising first day at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Singapore on Friday.
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The Quebecer was unable to avoid a slide, brushing against the wall. Although he had to stop further along the edge of the track, the damage was however repaired in time for the second session.
Stroll was the fourth fastest driver at the time of the incident and he had the eighth best time at the end of the first session, at 1 min 45.221 s. He later slotted in 10th in the second session clocking 1:43.982.
“Driving in Singapore is always great fun, but it’s also very demanding in very hot conditions,” Stroll said in a statement from Aston Martin. I brushed against the wall, but luckily we didn’t damage the car too much.”
“We did some important homework, especially in the second session, and I think it’s going to be a race of opportunity.”
Strolll edged teammate Sebastian Vettel in both sessions, by 133 thousandths of a second in the first and 267 at the end of the second. The German also admitted that he was still trying to find his bearings on this urban circuit.
“You have to take a little time to get into the rhythm, but Saturday and Sunday will be the days that will count, suggested the quadruple world champion. I struggled a bit to put it all together today, but if I can put it all together tomorrow we should be in the game for a good result this weekend.”
Qualifying will take place on Saturday, while the race will take place the following day.