“I think I underestimated how much of a toll the virus would take on me”- Lance Stroll admits his ignorance related to the COVID-19.
Lance Stroll was among the few drivers who were diagnosed positive with the virus during the 2020 Formula 1 season, and he had to miss the race in Germany due to it.
A few months later, he admits that he took the virus’s repercussions lightly, as what followed was a series of other bodily effects brought by the virus.
“COVID put me out of the German Grand Prix, and it probably affected me quite a bit for the following two Grand Prix,” Stroll said at the launch of the Aston Martin AMR21.
“Just no energy, physically, and not in the best place mentally. I think I underestimated how much of a toll the virus would take on me, and I did struggle physically in those races.”
We lost many points
Apart from him, his own teammate Sergio Perez was diagnosed with the virus a few weeks ago, during the British Grand Prix. Therefore, an inactive Nico Hulkenberg had to take their position on both occasions.
Though he gave his best, it cost them points due to undesirable results, additionally, out of the three races he had to appear, in one he had to retire before the start of the race due to the technical failure.
“After that rough patch, I was back on form in Turkey, so I started to get my form back”, he added. “But we lost a lot of world championship points, and there’s definitely a lot of things to learn from that experience.
“On a positive note, we did finish off the season much stronger, but I think the competition was much stronger towards the end of the year. Not the same as the beginning of the season where we were often cruising fourth and fifth with both cars, sometimes even better than that,”
“The game changed, the competition between the teams, and I think it’s going to be a very competitive midfield once again. We have to get our head down and do the job.”
