Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll stopped on the track as the Saudi Arabian GP was underway. The Canadian driver triggered a yellow flag and gave his fellow drivers a chance to pit and gain an advantage over their rivals.
Stroll was running well in the midfield when he was told to stop by his team as he approached Turn 13. The Aston Martin driver was seen parked outside the track as the marshalls extinguished the area around the front tires of his car.
No explanation was shared by the team as Stroll’s car stopped. But it seemed his breaks were overheated and therefore he had to retire from the race.
SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED (LAP 18/50)
Lance Stroll is told to stop on-track, and he parks up#SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/aWmuzZMGfO
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 19, 2023
Aston Martin focusing on Fernando Alonso
While Stroll suffered an unknown problem with his car, his teammate Fernando Alonso remained at the top of the grid battling for the top positions. There does not seem to be any problem with Alonso’s car as he storms through the track smoothly to maintain his position and improve.
Following Stroll’s shocking and disappointing retirement from the race in Jeddah, all of Aston Martin’s hopes have now shifted towards Alonso. Before the yellow flag, the Spanish driver was sitting in P2 but as Stroll gave the drivers an opportunity to gain an advantage through pit stops, Alonso got overtaken by his opponents.
Currently, the Spaniard is sitting third as he got passed by Red bull’s Max Verstappen who had started the race from P15. He is being chased by Mercedes’ George Russell followed by Lewis Hamilton.
But soon the Spaniard will need to serve a five-second penalty for an incorrect starting position at the lights out. So there is still a chance for Mercedes’ to take the lead.
Lance Stroll suffered a reduction in energy recovery
As the race progressed, the Silverstone-based team revealed that a reduction in energy recovery is predicted as the problem with Stroll’s car. However, the team has continued the investigation on the car. The team shared a post on the Stroll’s AMR23 revealing that there seems to be an issue with the hybrid system of the car.
UPDATE:
The team are still investigating the cause but there was a reduction in energy recovery.#SaudiArabianGP
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) March 19, 2023
Meanwhile, as the race concluded his teammate Alonso went on to grab the 100th podium of his career. But this was soon snatched away from him as he was slapped with a 10-second penalty for serving the initial 5-second penalty during the safety car. This has caused a massive uproar among fans.
