Lance Stroll Given Grid Penalty After Monaco FP1
Lance Stroll has received a one-place grid penalty for the Monaco Grand Prix after being deemed “wholly to blame” for a collision with Charles Leclerc during Friday’s first practice session.
The incident occurred early in FP1, with Stroll’s Aston Martin coming back onto the racing line at the hairpin after moving aside for another car. Leclerc, unable to avoid the Aston Martin, ran into the back of Stroll’s car—damaging his own front wing and forcing a red flag stoppage. Stroll’s car sustained broken rear suspension and required a gearbox change, keeping the Canadian out for the rest of the session.
After reviewing the incident, Monaco stewards ruled that Stroll was at fault, explaining in their decision:
“Car 18 (Stroll) cut across the path of Car 16 (Leclerc) at Turn 6, causing Car 16 to collide into Car 18. Car 16 suffered damage as a result.”
The stewards added that Stroll didn’t hear a radio message from his team warning him about Leclerc’s approach. However, they found Leclerc had no way to avoid the contact and issued a one-place grid drop for Stroll, plus one penalty point on his licence.
Aston Martin Team Principal Andy Cowell admitted during the Team Principal’s Press Conference that the team’s radio call to Stroll “wasn’t clear enough,” and emphasized the impact of missing valuable track time:
“Rear wishbone broken, damage to the floor, [the] best option was to change the gearbox because we set up two gearboxes yesterday ready for that sort of scenario. The downside is that Lance doesn’t get FP1 back. So it’s those laps that he’s missed. In terms of set-up and learning, then it’s learning from Fernando’s running that feeds across to both cars going forwards.”
Stroll will now start Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix with a one-place grid penalty, in addition to the time lost in Friday practice.
