Lance Stroll will start in the bottom five for the third race in succession after a Q1 exit at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He was 16th quickest on Saturday evening.
Rather agonisingly, Stroll was within a tenth of the time he needed to make Q2. But the margins were tight up and down the field, and his miserable run continues.
The Aston Martin driver was last in qualifying for the Japanese GP, and also lined up on the back row in Bahrain. His only hope of scoring points, it would seem, is another chaotic race in Jeddah.
Teammate Fernando Alonso was a tenth quicker in Q1, but he ended up 13th on the grid. Even the two-time world champion, renowned for getting the most out of underperforming cars, couldn’t haul the AMR25 into the top 10.
Lance Stroll now has the most Q1 eliminations ever after Saudi Arabian Grand Prix woes
Stroll, who made his F1 debut in 2017, has now been knocked out in Q1 75 times in his career. For reference, he’s made 171 race starts, so the elimination rate is more than 40%.
The 26-year-old would argue that this statistic reflects his number of appearances and the competitiveness of his cars. But it’s an ignominous record nonetheless.
Stroll overtakes the former Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, who lost his seat at the end of 2024. Ex-Sauber man Marcus Ericcson is third (71).
No other current driver is near the top of the leaderboard. Stroll does have a pole position to his name, achieved at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix.
One ‘disastrous’ moment has changed everything for Lance Stroll at Aston Martin
Stroll was looking strong at the start of the season. He bagged a commendable P5 at a treacherous Australian GP as numerous competitors faltered, including teammate Alonso.
He then outqualified the Spaniard for the Shanghai Sprint and added two more points to his tally in the race. Jacques Villeneuve commented that Stroll was suddenly smiling after critics had questioned whether he was happy in F1.
However, Stroll suffered a ‘disastrous’ Q1 elimination in Japan – his fourth in a row at Suzuka – and he’s lost all of his momentum since. He finished the race last and was 17th out of 18 classified finishers in Bahrain last weekend.
Aston Martin are throwing everything at Max Verstappen, with a 2026 move not ruled out. Both Stroll and Alonso are under contract, and Andy Cowell’s team could come under heavy fire if they axe the legendary veteran.
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