Having taken his first points of the season two weeks’ ago in Azerbaijan, Lance Stroll is aiming to aid Williams Martini Racing‘s push up the field at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Williams entered the start of the European season without a point to their name; however, Stroll’s eighth place finish at the Baku City Circuit was not enough to lift themselves off the foot of the Constructors’ Standings prior to the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Spanish round sees a return to a circuit he endured a testing time at 12 months ago, finishing sixteenth and last of the classified finishers, and whilst Stroll spoke about his like of the city, he admitted that due to the amount of testing performed at the venue, the track isn’t one of his favourites.
“I always enjoy going to Barcelona,” mused Stroll. “I think it is a great city and it is a nice track to drive. It is cosy as we have all our familiar belongings around us like the motorhomes and trucks.
“Every track is challenging, but Barcelona is not one of my favourites. This may be due to the fact that the amount of testing we have done there as drivers, we have driven it so many times it can become a bit repetitive after a while.”
Similarly to the Silverstone International Circuit, the Catalan track underwent resurfacing in preparation for the 2018 season and the Canadian said that the change in track surface had a notable affect in winter testing. Although the threat of rain looms large over the course of the weekend, warmer temperatures are a given – Formula 1 was given an icy welcome in late February, with track temperatures lounging in single digits for much of the first test.
“It has also been resurfaced over the winter and it was quite different when we were there during pre-season testing,” he added.
“So we will see what it is going to be like when we arrive back here for the race.”
