Lance Stroll blasts gamble which cost him "top four" in F1 Las Vegas GP qualifying

Aston Martin Formula 1 driver Lance Stroll blasted the “stupid” gamble which cost him a “top four” result in qualifying for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The 27-year-old will start the race in 12th after a wet session around the Nevada street track, while team-mate Fernando Alonso is seventh.

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It came after cars started qualifying on the full-wet tyre, which initially worked well for Stroll, who finished fourth in Q1 and was looking good for a solid result.

Such promise initially continued into Q2 as the Canadian went second on his first flying lap, but then Aston Martin gambled with a switch to the intermediate tyre while others stayed on wets.

The aim was to do three push laps in the latter stages of Q2, but Stroll could only do two in the end, which ultimately dropped him into the elimination zone.

When asked if the switch to inters was brave, Stroll replied: “No, just stupid in the end. Not the team’s fault, it was a group decision.

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

“But I was told I was going to get three push [laps], I only got two push. That’s where it went wrong. So, yeah, shame. We threw away a good opportunity today to fight for the top… probably top three, top four.”

Stroll also thought it was the right decision at the time, but it relied on him being able to execute the plan as intended.

When asked if it felt like a gamble at the time, he said: “No, with three push [it didn’t]. With three push I was pretty confident we were going to make something good happen. But with the two push, there was no chance. So, yeah, that’s where it went wrong.”

Alonso, however, was much more upbeat than his team-mate as he praised Aston for being “very spot-on” with the tyre choice after it was also the first to use wets in Q1 when others began on Inters.

The two-time F1 champion said: “Even if we said many times we are not as competitive as we would like and the car is not as fast as we hope, the team is always focused, determined to extract the maximum result every weekend.

“Today was another good example. So as I said, happy for the team, happy for them. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”

Photos from Las Vegas GP – Practice and Qualifying