Stroll: “Tough One to Take” after Vettel Incident and Penalty at the Italian Grand Prix

Lance Stroll described his weekend in Monza at the Italian Grand Prix, as “a tough one to take” as he slipped out of the points and spun whilst avoiding Sebastian Vettel. Stroll had started in ninth place after entering Q3 for the first time this year, but would finish in twelfth after a penalty.

“That’s a tough one to take.” said Stroll. “We should have scored good points today. It all went wrong when Vettel came back on the track very aggressively and hit me. I’m quite upset with him for what happened.

“I tried to avoid him by going to the left but he just kept moving forward and eventually we made contact: I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I did everything I could to avoid him and I was even cautious with the yellow flag.“

The Twenty-year-old talked about the incident, calling it a “disaster” as he hit Pierre Gasly of Scuderia Toro Ross, as he aimed to come back on the the track. Where he had been going well at the time. He then received a drive through penalty, where as Vettel received a ten second stop and go.

“I lifted off and he just came back on at Ascari and there was really nothing I could do, even at the speed I was going. He clipped me, I spun and then I was pointing the wrong way.

“When I was coming back onto the circuit myself, I got penalised for no fault of my own. It’s just a disaster really. I couldn’t see Pierre: I was just trying to get off the racing line and away from the dangerous position Vettel forced me into.”

Before the incident, the SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team driver, was in seventh after a good start. Stroll explained that he thought the race would be “pretty smooth” as he has got passed the McLaren F1 team driver of Carlos Sainz Jr., who had started in seventh.

“We were looking pretty strong in seventh, with a decent gap to eighth, pulling away from the McLaren, and keeping the Renaults in sight. It was looking like a pretty smooth race from there, but it just goes to show how quickly things can turn around.“

However, the Candian went on to talk about the positives, as Formula 1 goes to the Singapore Grand Prix, in Marina Bay. With seven races to go, Stroll explained that there are “lots of points up for grabs” and that he believes his team will get some in the next few races.

“There’s a lot of racing left this year and more improvements to come. This one is going to sting for a day or two. I think there were a lot of points up for grabs, but that’s racing.”