Lance Stroll on the front row of Monza!
Eliminated in Q1 last week at Spa-Francorchamps, both Williams took advantage of the extreme conditions at Monza to make it to Q3. Lance Stroll did even better: the penalty of the two Red Bulls allows him to start from the front row! Felipe Massa will start seventh.
Lance Stroll’s season is undeniably made up of highs and lows. Last week, he was not even able to get out of the Q1 trap on a power circuit. But the young driver skillfully managed the dire conditions at the Monza circuit. Although he recorded the fourth fastest time in Q3, the engine penalties affecting the two Red Bulls propel him to the front row, alongside Lewis Hamilton.
At the end of this crazy session, he was all smiles when presenting himself to the press, which included Motors Inside: « It’s a fantastic day. I really enjoyed myself on the wet track. We were able to achieve a very good result, with the front row tomorrow. It really feels good. »
One of the keys to this performance in regular conditions lies in the management of the tires. Although he still struggles to fully manage the Pirelli tires on a dry track, this is not the case on a wet track: Today, I drove naturally, as I would normally, without worrying that the tire would give out by the end of the lap. On a dry track, I’m still working on it, but it has significantly improved.
However, he knows that the hardest part is yet to come: « If the race is on a dry track, I don’t think we can keep the Mercedes and Ferrari behind us. » Conversely, if the bad weather persists over Lombardy, he can dream of replicating a performance similar to Sebastian Vettel on his modest Toro Rosso, who claimed his first victory there starting from pole position.
Paddy Lowe could therefore be pleased with his driver’s performance: “We had very good pace with the car, especially with Lance, who is my driver of the day. We briefed him this morning and asked if he wanted more practice in the wet because he had never driven an F1 in wet conditions with rain tires, but he said, ‘No, I’ll see how it goes.’ That’s what he did today. We saw great talent on the track. Being good in the wet is very difficult to develop. So, it’s either a good or bad surprise on the day it happens.”
Under these conditions, Felipe Massa’s ninth place seems rather unimpressive, even though it will be converted into a seventh place on the grid. It remains to be seen if the Brazilian can once again use his experience to turn his position into valuable points at the end of the race.
