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Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll is feeling a different kind of heat following the Qatar Grand Prix
Lance Stroll may be under pressure to deliver at Aston Martin given his recent struggles, but now the Formula 1 driver is under a different kind of stress.
The one caused by an investigation from the sport’s governing body into his behavior at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Following a dismal qualifying performance on Friday, Stroll was caught on camera apparently shoving his his osteopath and performance coach Henry Howe aside after exiting his race car. The frustrated driver then gave a very terse interview with F1, offering just six words in response to three different questions.
You can see the incident in the Aston Martin garage, as well as his first response to questions, here:
Following the incident, Stroll told the media that everything was okay between him and Howe. “We’re good,” said Stroll to the media last weekend. “He’s a bro. We go through the frustrations together and we ride together, so we’re cool.”
On Sunday Aston Martin Team Principal Mike Krack said they would handle the matter internally.
“I think you have to speak about these things, but you have to put them in relation,” he said. “And I think you cannot speak in the heat of the moment. You need to wait, and maybe everybody sleeps one night, and then we have a look and we discuss and then the world is a different one.”
A spokesperson for the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), offered this statement: “The FIA Compliance Officer is in discussion with Lance Stroll in relation to several incidents that may have contravened FIA rules, policies and procedures during the Qatar Grand Prix.”
Stroll’s deeper frustration may lie in his recent form. As you can see from this chart from Formula1Points, the Aston Martin has struggled in recent races:
His last points finish came at the Belgian Grand Prix, where he finished ninth to add two points to his total on the year. Since then Stroll has failed to place in the points in every single race, including the Singapore Grand Prix where a massive crash during qualifying saw him unable to participate in the race itself.
As we pointed out earlier this week, the gap between Stroll and teammate Fernando Alonso is the second-biggest gap between teammates in F1 this season. The only bigger gap comes from Red Bull, between Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez.
For those wondering, FIA has handed down penalties for similar behavior in the past. One of the more recent incidents came back in 2018, when Max Verstappen was ordered to serve two days of “community service” after shoving Esteban Ocon following the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix. Late in that race Ocon and Verstappen collided on the track, and the collision cost Verstappen a shot at victory.
Following the race, Verstappen shoved Ocon multiple times, leading to the penalty.
