Lance Stroll laid the blame for his retirement from the Bahrain Grand Prix firmly at the hands of Carlos Sainz Jr after the Williams Martini Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers collided at the start of lap thirteen on Sunday.
The Canadian was heading into turn one when Sainz, on exiting the pits, attempted a pass, but the two collided on the apex of the turn, ending both of their afternoons on the spot.
The stewards looked at the incident afterwards and agreed with Stroll that it was Sainz’s fault, and handed the Spaniard a grid penalty for the Russian Grand Prix at the end of the month.
“I saw Sainz coming out of the pit lane, I was 50 or 60 metres in front of him in the braking zone, and was already turning in and he drove into my side,” said Stroll. “There is not much else to say, as I have just seen the video and it was ridiculous.”
Apart from losing a couple of places at the start, Stroll felt his race at the Bahrain International Circuit was going well, but after three retirements in three races, the Canadian teenager is hopeful his luck will turn around soon and he can see the chequered flag for the first time.
“I think the race wasn’t going badly,” admitted Stroll. “I had a bad start and lost a couple of positions, but boxed early and had a really good beginning to the stint on the soft tyres.
“I am just disappointed and hope my luck turns round sometime soon. I can be frustrated, but it won’t get me anywhere. On the bright side there are many races to go.”
