Lance Stroll says clash with Esteban Ocon in F1 Emilia Romagna GP ruined his race as the mechanic he hit is back home with bruises.
Ever since the third place finish at Monza, Racing Point’s Stroll hasn’t had a clean run at all. In the six rounds since then, he has had four retirements, one did not start due to COVID-19 and a 13th place finish in F1 Emilia Romagna GP at Imola.
Especially after COVID-19, Stroll hasn’t looked like his pre-Monza self, where he scored 57 points in nine F1 rounds. He already had a bad qualifying at Imola to start 15th after his quick lap was deleted and on Lap 1 of the grand prix, he had damage on the front wing.
He had a brush with Renault’s Ocon in a racing incident, which forced Stoll to pit early on. It was trouble all-along then, as he even out-braked himself in the pits to hit a mechanic down due to cold tyres. The Racing Point member limped back into the garage then.
Fortunately, he only got bruises and no broken bones, as he flew back home on Monday with the team safely when asked by FormulaRapida.net. In fact, after the medical team checked on him, he returned to his pit duties straight on.
While Stroll had a horror show, teammate Sergio Perez almost had a podium. He still managed to finish sixth to keep Racing Point in check with Renault and McLaren in the fight for third place in the constructors’ championship – where they are separated by one point.
“It was a really difficult day out there,” said Stroll. “The contact with Esteban on the first lap really ruined my race and I had significant damage to the front wing. It’s a shame because I was able to make up a couple of places at the start.
“After the contact, we came in at the end of the first lap and switched to the hard tyre, but we knew that without a really disrupted race, it was going to be tough to make up many places because it’s so hard to overtake here.
“At the final pitstop, I had really cold brakes and that meant I overshot the pit box. I’m really glad to hear that my mechanic is OK – that’s the most important thing,” summed up Stroll, as he hopes to bounce back well in Turkey now.
Meanwhile, for Ocon as well, it was his fourth retirement of the 2020 F1 season – his third in five races. Renault suspects it to be a transmission issue as investigation carries on, while Cyril Abiteboul took the chance to apologise for another failure on their part.
Here’s the video of mechanic hit: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2020/11/2020_Emilia_Romagna_Grand_Prix__Stroll_hits_Racing_Point_mechanic_in_pit_lane.html
Here’s FIA looking into safety car unlapping situation
Here’s the story which included Lance Stroll going at normal speed