“Don’t Understand How I’m P3”: Lance Stroll Breaks a Smile as Rare Triumph Over Fernando Alonso Lifts Spirits

Another year at the Brazilian GP, another chaotic, exciting, and shocking qualifying session at Interlagos. It’s like the track has weather conditions of its own, a mind of its own. No one can ever count out the chance of the heavens opening up and raining down on everyone. Last season, it happened in Q3, where Haas’ Kevin Magnussen benefitted the most out of his first run in the session. The Danish driver got his first pole position! This year saw another shock, and it came in the form of Lance Stroll.

The Canadian driver has had a torrid season after showing positive signs in the beginning. But after months and months of struggling, it looks like there’s finally a ray of sunshine creeping through the rather scary clouds at Interlagos.

Lance Stroll couldn’t have asked for a better outing in qualifying

This season has been one to forget for Lance Stroll. After starting his year with a biking accident, he came into the first race injured and recovering. Even so, he pulled out a great performance in Bahrain. Since then, though, all he’s done is watch his teammate Fernando Alonso decimate him every weekend. There have been a few sessions here and there where he has out-performed Alonso, but they’ve been few and far between. Considering this, there have been appeals to sack him in the recent weeks. But the Brazilian GP qualifying might work in his favor.

As 15 drivers became 10 after Q2 at the Brazilian GP, the weather conditions changed from a very slight possibility of rain to a very high chance of Biblical-level rains. Aston Martin saw it coming and sent its drivers out before anyone else. With Alonso leading Stroll out of the pits, Stroll followed Alonso through the lap and stitched up a lap that put him at the top of the timing charts, eventually sliding down to P3, with Alonso in P4. Given how the past few months have gone for him, it came as a surprise. 

After he heard the result, he radioed in and said, “I don’t understand how I am P3, but, whatever!” In a post-qualifying interview, he explained, “The car was feeling good throughout the session and Q3 was really tricky. My lap was pretty bad.  A few lock-ups. Missed some apexes but good enough for P3 which is a good result. It’s been tricky the last couple of weekends, Mexico was a tough weekend but today has been a great day.”

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This isn’t the only “great day” Stroll has had when it comes to wet-weather qualifying. Let’s take a trip down memory lane to 2020.

Lance Stroll’s first pole position was another shocker

Back in 2020, Mercedes was the team to beat. Although Max Verstappen did get the better of the Brackley team a few times, no one could beat Mercedes in qualifying. At least until Lance Stroll did at the Turkish GP. With the Istanbul Circuit returning to the calendar, drivers were already struggling to find grip on the surface. Rain showers before and during qualifying didn’t make conditions any better for them. But Stroll adapted better than any.

His then-teammate Sergio Perez set a blistering time on the Intermediates. Seeing him, Verstappen and Stroll went into the pits to change their Wet tires, all the while Mercedes was in a fix. Stroll got his Inters in the right window and pulled out a scintillating lap to secure pole, while Verstappen struggled to warm his tires up and could only manage P2. With his pole, Stroll became the first Canadian to take P1 since Jacques Villeneuve in 1997.

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Lance Stroll eventually finished the race in P9. He would hope this year’s Brazilian GP plays out differently. While Aston Martin’s race pace is still up in the air, he’ll look to continue his newfound form into Saturday’s Sprint as well as Sunday’s race. Do you think he can fight among the top dogs?