Lance Stroll Explains the Costly ‘Miscommunication’ with Racing Point in Bahrain GP Qualifying

Lance Stroll looked extremely strong through Q1 and witnessing the Canadian in the top 10 was more than guaranteed. However, a “miscommunication” left Stroll helpless, shattering his hopes of reaching Q3.

He looked in no shape to reach the final part of qualifying as the Racing Point driver settled for a rather disappointing P13. As he drove into the pits, Stroll took to his team radio to hint at a miscommunication. However, before his race engineer could respond, Stroll stated they can talk about it later.

Following the qualifying session, Stroll clarified what went wrong in his Q2 run that hampered his chances of reaching Q3. “We had the wrong tires on the car,” he said. “But it was no one’s fault.”

“I think there was a miscommunication on timing. I thought we would have had time for two runs. We only had time for one run.”

Earlier in Q1, Stroll posted an incredible lap that witnessed him climb up to P2, splitting the two Mercedes. Eventually, after the lap, he told his race engineer he had “so much more grip.” Hence, going into Q2, all eyes were on the Canadian. However, an untimely red flag turned things around for Stroll.

Lance Stroll blames the Red Flag for his Q2 mishap

The Racing Point driver was on his first flying lap in Q2, when red lights flashed around the circuit caused by Carlos Sainz. This meant that he had used up a fresh set of Mediums. When the lights went green again, assuming others would go with the used set of tires, Racing Point, too, sent Stroll on the same tires.

However, it was only a matter of time before Stroll’s side of the garage realized they had gotten it wrong. Eventually, considering the massive disadvantage, Stroll failed to enter Q3.

“I was on an old set of Mediums because we used one in Q1, and then we did a lap before the red flag in Q2,” Stroll said.

“We went back on the same set, whereas the others had another new set. There was no chance to even get close. Unfortunately, yeah, that was a bad call.”

However, Racing Point will not be panicking at the moment, as Sunday matters the most. Stroll has been impressive with race starts, and the car has particularly looked pacy throughout the weekend.

Hence, the ‘Pink Panthers’ will definitely be targeting for a double-points finish in tomorrow’s race. Overall, will Racing Point dominate the mid-field in the race and consequently extend their lead in the constructors’ table? Watch the race to find out.