Lance Stroll isn't always great entertainment when facing the media, especially on a bad day. And Saturday in China was one of those – as most days currently are for Aston Martin in Formula 1.
The Canadian managed to outqualify only Sergio Perez, who had an issue with his car during the session – so Stroll ended up 21st on the timesheet with a 2.8s gap to the fastest time in Q1 set by Charles Leclerc. That result could even be taken as an improvement compared to a week ago in Melbourne, where Stroll couldn't even leave the garage due to an engine issue. Yet he himself isn't really considering it as such.
When the Canadian made his way to the media mixed zone and faced the first question post-qualifying in China – regarding whether the team had made any progress since last week – his answer was a simple "No".
A further question about whether being able to at least complete more laps in Shanghai than in Melbourne made him feel any better brought the same response.
"No," he said, feeling no need to elaborate.
Does he expect any progress during the race then? Also, "No".
The last attempt from the representatives of the media, though, yielded a slightly more elaborate answer.
"Is there any positive?" he was asked.
"Right now, not much, no," Stroll responded. And there were no further questions.
Aston Martin's torrid start to the season continues. Stroll and his team-mate Fernando Alonso were out after the first segment of sprint qualifying too – with only the Cadillac drivers ending up behind them on the sprint grid. The Saturday morning short race saw them cross the line 17th and 18th with three retirements.
On a positive note, they at least completed the full distance of 19 laps.
The goal for Sunday's race, according to Alonso, is to try to do the same in the main event.
"To try to finish the race," the Spaniard said when asked about the target for the main race in Shanghai by DAZN. "It would be good to see the chequered flag for the first time. We saw it with both cars today, but it was a short race, so let’s see if tomorrow with one of the two we can see the chequered flag."
Photos from Chinese GP - Saturday
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
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Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
