Lance Stroll will start 5th, his best Qualifying start in 2022 ahead of the race in Austin.
Lance Stroll hit the spotlight after the Qualifying session of the 2022 United States GP. The Canadian qualified best of the rest, finishing P7.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz enjoyed his 3rd pole position of the season with a Q3 time of 1:34.356. Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen qualified P2 and P3 respectively.
The top 5 at COTA were separated by the finest of margins of half a second. Only 0.065 seconds separated the two Ferraris. While Sainz managed to beat Verstappen by 0.098 seconds.
Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton qualified for P4 and P5. But the array of grid penalties for Perez and Leclerc for taking a new internal combustion engine and other parts sees them start P9 and P12 respectively.
This means Stroll will be starting P5 ahead of the McLaren and Alpine duo. Stroll reached Q3 for the third time in 2022. It marks the best starting position for the British team alongside Sebastian Vettel’s P5 in Spa this year.
Also Read: Watch as Daniel Ricciardo hilariously confuses Alex Palou for Alex Albon during the US Grand Prix
Lance Stroll starts P5 for 2022 US GP
Lance Stroll enjoyed driving around the COTA track. The Canadian starts ahead of Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, and Valtteri Bottas amongst others.
Stroll remarked about his Q3 appearance saying, “It was fun.” The Aston Martin driver said the car was tuned to perfection and was a result of the hard work and strong comeback put by the team in recent races.
He adds, “I think we have been getting better in the last few races. We have been challenging for Q3’s and we’ve had the pace.” Stroll trails Sebastian Vettel in terms of his qualifying battles as the German leads 10-7 after the US GP.
When asked where will he finish on Sunday, he feels the car won’t be able to match the speeds of Mercedes, Red Bull or Ferrari. But can definitely fight for the best of the rest and bring much-needed points.
Aston Martin is locked in a tight battle with Alfa Romeo for P6. The British team trail the Italians by 7 points and points onboard will help them achieve their target.
Also Read: Lawrence Stroll paid $79 million to map Lance Stroll’s journey from F4 to F1
Lando Norris points out Lance Stroll’s pace
Lando Norris qualified just behind Lance Stroll. The Briton will start the race P6 ahead of the Alpine of Fernando Alonso.
Lando was pleased by the lap as the car did not suit the COTA track. But there is a lack of pace which might play a part.
Lando said, “Lance did a good job to stay even ahead of me but it shows that they are also fast, so I’ll get back tomorrow.”
Fernando Alonso will drop from 9th to 14th after incurring a grid penalty for new parts. This allows Lando to start ahead of the two Alpines as McLaren look to reclaim P4 in the Constructors championship.
