Lance Stroll is unable to complete a single lap at Monza

Lance Stroll had a day to remember on Friday at Monza.

The Aston Martin driver was unable to complete a single lap during the first of two free practice sessions ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.

Early in the second, the Quebec driver was forced to stop on the side of the track, victim of a malfunction in his car’s fuel system, which caused the red flag to be raised.

A few minutes after his car was evacuated, the session was able to resume without any incident.

Stroll made way for Brazilian development driver Felipe Drugovich in the first session.

“I’m not sure where we are,” he admitted, according to the Aston Martin website. […] At least the team was able to collect data thanks to Felipe and Fernando [Alonso]Then we’ll have something to build on tomorrow [samedi]”.

To the delight of the fans, Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr., from Ferrari, set the best time in this second session. He beat Briton Lando Norris (McLaren) and Mexican Sergio Perez (Red Bull).

Alonso, Stroll’s teammate, finished eighth in practice two and sixth in practice one.

“It was a difficult day overall because we only raced one car in FP2, but Fernando did very well in FP1,” added Tom McCullough, Aston Martin Performance Director. […] The fuel system issue was a bit frustrating…”

Mercedes is struggling

For his part, defending Dutch champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) settled for fifth place, behind McLaren’s Australian Oscar Piastri, but ahead of the other Ferrari, Monaco driver Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen has the chance to take a 10th successive win on Sunday, which would set a Formula 1 record. He currently shares the brand with German Sebastian Vettel.

Mercedes was not in the mix. Britain’s George Russell and Lewis Hamilton ranked ninth and seventeenth, respectively, in the second session.

A third round is scheduled for Saturday before qualifying, which begins at 10 a.m. (Quebec time).

Arrangement of the second free training session:

1. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spain/Ferrari) 1:21.355 (23 laps)
2. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:21.374 (20)
3. Sergio Perez (Mexico/Red Bull) 1:21.540 (17)
4. Oscar Piastri (Australia/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:21.545 (21)
5. Max Verstappen (Netherlands/Red Bull) 1:21.631 (20)
6. Charles Leclerc (Moon/Ferrari) 1:21.716 (23)
7. Alexander Albon (Thailand/Williams-Mercedes) 1:21.979 (19)
8. Fernando Alonso (Spain/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:22.071 (16)
9. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 1:22.176 (20)
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Germany/Haas Ferrari) 1:22.291 (19)
11. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark/Haas Ferrari) 1:22.574 (21)
12. Valtteri Bottas (Finland/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari) 1:22.595 (19)
13. Pierre Gasly (France/Alpine-Renault) 1:22.651 (22)
14. Yuki Tsunoda (Japan/AlphaTauri-Red Bull) 1:22.696 (23)
15. Esteban Ocon (France/Alpine-Renault) 1:22.716 (22)
16. Logan Sargent (USA/Williams-Mercedes) 1:22.755 (24)
17. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:22.783 (23)
18. Liam Lawson (New Zealand/Alpha Tauri-Red Bull) 1:23.167 (23)
19. Zhou Guanyu (China/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari) 1:23.346 (20)
20. Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 0.000 (2)

– With Agence France-Presse