OCTOBER 11, 2023

Stroll in exceptional situation amid F1 dramas

Lance Stroll has found himself at the centre of multiple intersecting narratives in Formula 1 - as it emerges that the FIA is now investigating his behaviour.

Amid the Canadian's performance slump, and after his calamitous participation in the most recent race weekend, an FIA spokesman said the body's compliance department is in talks with Stroll over several incidents in Qatar.

He threw his steering wheel after qualifying, violently shoved his trainer Henry Howe after refusing to go for his mandatory post-qualifying weight-check, and then lashed the FIA and the stewards to the media.

It's a joke that they are giving penalties for this, he said on Sunday about the track limits issues in Qatar. "They don't understand what Formula 1 is these days.

What they're putting us through - making the track narrower and saying you can't go over kerbs because the tyres are failing if we do.

The FIA spokesman said the Paris federation is now looking into Stroll for potential breaches of FIA rules, policies and procedures.

And it all comes at a time in which rumours are flying around that Stroll's motivation and form are flagging at the same time and rate - and that his Aston Martin-owning father Lawrence may be considering Yuki Tsunoda for the team's works Honda future.

It's an exceptional situation, well-known Spanish commentator Antonio Lobato told A Diario.

"Not only is he the owner's son, but he built this team for his son to race. So I don't think he's going to tell him to get out.

But it's another thing for him to say 'Hey, dad, I can't do this anymore. I'm suffering a lot and not having fun'. Taking the last nine races, the one with the least points has been Stroll, Lobato added.
(GMM)