While the Spaniard took eight podiums, Stroll's best result at the wheel of the same Aston Martin was a fourth place in the Australian GP. A race decidedly affected by accidents.
However, after struggling to get used to the AMR23 for much of the year, Stroll finished the season with a solid fifth place in Brazil, which he then repeated in Las Vegas. Stroll believes these end-of-season results are a reflection of him feeling more comfortable with the car, thanks to the changes he made that made it better suited to his needs.
“It feels good to do well, for sure,” he said. “But I knew that if I felt the car working well under me and if I could drive the car freely without having to deal with and go around the things that were bothering me, I would be at a good level and get the most out of myself.”
“And I know that for a few months, with the changes I made, there were weekends where I couldn't reach the point where I felt free in the car and could drive at my best. Because it wasn't handling the way I wanted. And a At this level, when you have these problems, when the car doesn't behave as you would like and doesn't adapt to your driving style, it doesn't work.”
“I think in those moments you can't doubt yourself, you just have to know that when the car is there and behaves the way you want, it will be fine, whereas when it's not there and doesn't behave the way you want, it will be more challenging.”
“F1 is like this, the drivers are all of the highest level, you can never be competitive if you are not comfortable and confident in your car and if you don't drive freely. I think this is my perception.”
Photo by: Jake Grant / Motorsport Images
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR23
Stroll's season was also marked by technical problems which often cost him precious time in practice and which sometimes affected his races. “Yes, it was a season with a lot of bad luck, with many missed opportunities,” he said. “I don't like to use the word bad luck, but I think they were missed opportunities.”
“But I think it's bad luck when I think about the breakdowns and everything else. We've had races like the one in Saudi Arabia with an engine problem when I was fourth, qualifying in Monaco where I hit some debris. The car was damaged in Q2 and starting from the middle of the pack in Monaco you lose the weekend. I think back to places like Suzuka, a good race ruined by a rear wing failure.”
“In Zandvoort we missed the pit stop when the rain came, we stayed on the track, it was a bad decision. We were in a good position to score important points. But I think this is part of the season.”
Reflecting on his misfortunes, he said: “Sometimes things often go right. And sometimes everything goes wrong. And I think if you try to stay present and focus on one weekend at a time, all the things that go wrong they can change very quickly in the next race and all go right.”
“On the other hand, if you are too caught up in the past, in everything that has happened, sometimes you miss the opportunities that may present themselves. And this is not good. It's a matter of facing one race at a time and accepting that every now and then the 'mountains Russians' can be a little too high. It's not always smooth sailing ahead of you, but that's part of racing,” he concluded.
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