Lance Stroll is not too certain what to expect in F1 Chinese GP this weekend after the struggles for Racing Point in Bahrain GP.
Stroll started his Racing Point career in the best way possible with points in the opening round in Australia, but Lap 1 collision hampered his progress in Bahrain, where the team struggled overall to match with the other midfield outfits.
Both Stroll and Sergio Perez were more or less certain that Q3 would be difficult in Bahrain. While the Mexican scrapped through to Q2, the Canadian was out in Q1. In the race, the troubles for Renault helped Perez to score a point but he wasn’t too pleased.
The upgrades they have in place since the Barcelona tests hasn’t resulted in the performance push they hoped for. The team thus ran both their regular drivers in the Bahrain test as opposed to sharing the car with a rookie.
With China this weekend, Stroll is not too sure what to expect but the Canadian remains optimistic as he feels that the team is moving towards the right direction. “I not sure what to expect from this weekend in China,” he said.
“I hope we can be more competitive than we were in Bahrain because it’s a different sort of track. There’s a nice flow with some quick corners and it’s fun to drive. It’s a very wide track in places with one of the longest straights of the year.
“We often see some drag races down to the final hairpin and it is probably the best overtaking opportunity of the lap. We struggled with the balance of the car in Bahrain and it’s something we worked to improve during the test last week.
“We are still learning how to maximise the current aero package, but it feels as though we are moving in the right direction. I think we can unlock more potential from the car this weekend in China.”
In the tight midfield fight seen in the 2019 F1 season so far, it seems like Racing Point sits in the lower half of the teams as the likes of Haas, Renault, McLaren and Alfa Romeo Racing has shown better pace than the British-Canadian outfit.
Team principal Otmar Szafnuer feels the team will be more competitive in China, especially after the work Stroll and Perez went through in the Bhrain test. “We head to China aiming to continue our run of points finishes,” he said.
“The Bahrain weekend was pretty challenging but I think we can be more competitive Shanghai. The work at the test last week was valuable and we will put that learning to good use this weekend. We feel there is more to come from this current package.”
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