“Ridiculous He Didn’t Get a Penalty”- Lance Stroll Slams Charles Leclerc for Sochi DNF

Racing Point’s Lance Stroll had yet another race to forget. The Belgian-Canadian driver was bumped out of the race by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc during the opening lap, thus suffering his second consecutive DNF.

Stroll was not pleased with Leclerc and felt the Monegasque should have been penalized. Stroll said, “Very sloppy from his part and I gave him all the room. I’m quite surprised he didn’t get a penalty.

“I gave him plenty of room, I did the whole corner on the outside and he just tagged my right rear. I gave him all the room and it was unlucky. But he could have avoided it. He didn’t have to run so wide into me. So I think it’s kind of ridiculous that he didn’t get a penalty.”

Stroll’s disappointment is understandable. Although he had a poor qualifying session, getting knocked out in Q2, he started off the race on the right foot. He rose from P12 to P7 after the first three corners before he was sent spinning into the barriers.

Lance’s teammate, Sergio Perez, performed very well and crossed the checkered flag in P4, getting the team 12 points in the bargain. However, that was not enough for the team to leapfrog McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship table.

But if Stroll could have finished the race, then he may well have helped his team go over McLaren.

ALSO READ- WATCH: Lance Stroll is Bumped Out of the Russian Grand Prix By Charles Leclerc

Lance Stroll thinks of what might have been

Stroll felt he could have helped the team bag a solid amount of points in Sochi. He said, “A lot was possible. We were seventh at that point, I had a great start, we were on a good tire, so it’s a real shame.”

Had Stroll finished in the Top-6, which seemed like a real possibility, the 21-year-old could well have been 4th on the Drivers’ Championship standings. That would have been some retort to the critics.

However, he finds himself in 8th place instead, with 57 points. But all is not lost, we still have 7 races to go. Stroll may well end the season as high as 4th if things go his way.