Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz Jnr blamed traffic after both were eliminated in the first round of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix.
The pair both had to look on as their team mates went on to reach Q3.Sainz was delayed when he lost time behind Robert Kubica at turn 13. The Williams driver was touring into the pits after puncturing his tyre by hitting the wall at turn 10.
The McLaren driver said he expected to post a significant improvement on his final Q3 lap because the track conditions were improving and he had been slowed by an engine problem on his first lap.
“I was coming in a lap good enough for the top 10 at that point,” he said. “But unfortunately I found Robert with a puncture going into the last two corners. So you can imagine how frustrating that was after a strong weekend in general for the team.
“Unfortunately I found him, lost three or four tenths that I had already recovered, nearly improved in my last sector where I had another two-tenths to come. So you can imagine I’m disappointed.”
“I was in his bumper in the corner and that cost me easily a couple of tenths, it was a real shame. I think we would have went through no problem.”
Grosjean, who was on an out-lap at the time, said he failed to make way for Stroll because he was trying to reach the start/finish line in time to start a lap before the session ended, which he failed to do. “We were a bit later getting out and didn’t have chance to get a second lap in,” he explained.
The stewards have not indicated either incident is under investigation.
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Team radio: Stroll and Grosjean
| Stroll: | I got some traffic into nine. He didn’t get out of the way. Didn’t even attemptto get out of the way. |
| To Stroll: | Copy that, Lance. Who was it, did you see? |
| Stroll: | It was a Haas car or a Toro Rosso I believe. Turn nine. |
| To Stroll: | Copy that, Lance. |
| To Stroll: | So unfortunately Lance by less than a tenth we’re not through, so P16. The Grosjean incident cost us that basically, that was Grosjean I’m afraid. I understand he was on an out-lap and |
| Stroll: | He just didn’t get out of the way. |
| To Stroll: | No I understand, and he couldn’t actually… he was on an out-lap and he couldn’t do a lap because they left too late to do a lap. |
| To Grosjean: | We need a pushing out-lap. |
| To Grosjean: | OK Stroll seven seconds behind he is pushing. Please keep pushing. One minute 20 to get around. |
| To Grosjean: | Watch for Stroll, four seconds behind. |
| To Grosjean: | We have one minute to get around so keep pushing. |
| To Grosjean: | Watch for Stroll coming through now. |
| To Grosjean: | Copy. |
| To Grosjean: | He is two seconds behind you. Keep pushing though, please keep pushing. [Stroll passes] |
| To Grosjean: | 40 seconds to get around, please keep pushing. |
| Grosjean: | Yeah it’s no good, no good. |
| To Grosjean: | 35 seconds, Kubica six seconds behind, he is pushing. |
| To Grosjean: | We need to push now, push now please. |
| Grosjean: | Too late, too late, too late. |
| To Grosjean: | OK so mode ‘in’ please. |
| To Grosjean: | Please keep pushing on the in-lap. Target minus 20 on the delta please. |
| Grosjean: | I’m struggling to understand here what’s going on. |
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Jere (@jerejj)
16th March 2019, 12:53
Unlucky. Had he caught Kubica on a straight it would’ve still been all okay, but unfortunately, it instead happened on a corner.
joe jopling (@jop452)
16th March 2019, 13:34
Not convinced that Stroll can keep up with his team mate this season, let alone race him (unless of course Perez is told to let him through ), but I thought it interesting that McLaren with its Renault engine was quicker than the factory team…that would hurt
MXMXD (@mxmxd)
16th March 2019, 14:18
… Stroll was 0.1 sec behind Perez, and that’s despite having obviously lost some time and not having full advantage of a warmed track.
I’m not saying he can or will keep up, but it’s impossible to conclude he cannot keep up after this Quali session. Unless I got the numbers wrong, amongst “slowest” qualifiers vs their “fastest” teammate in their last common outing, Stroll was the second closest to his teammate (the closest being Ricciardo).
I mean, you wouldn’t say that Magnussen can’t keep up with Grosjean, would you? … Well, according to their quali laps, that would be a more reasonable conclusion.
MaliceCooper
16th March 2019, 20:59
Stroll would be World Champion if it wasn’t for those 19 cars getting in his way