The ultimate stage of qualifying for Sunday’s race in Sao Paulo started with rainfall anticipated to emerge partway via the session, as darkish clouds rolled over the circuit.
This precipitated a rush to get a banker lap in in the beginning of the session, and Aston Martin took the initiative by queuing up on the pitlane exit first in a bid to beat the incoming inclement climate.
Stroll managed to outqualify team-mate Fernando Alonso on their laps after the Spaniard was first onto the street however, as climate situations worsened, tempo started to say no and only polesitter Max Verstappen and runner-up Charles Leclerc overcame the Aston Martins.
“I do not assume we had been fortunate right now; I feel we made our personal luck,” Stroll replied to a query asking if Aston Martin’s outcome was largely via luck.
“I feel we did effectively going to the entrance of the queue and getting good observe place. And, yeah, the climate was coming in, so I feel that was sensible.”
A change in wind path, which Verstappen defined was a change from a reasonable tailwind down the start-finish straight to a brisk headwind, ensured that lots of the drivers struggled to navigate sector two with the identical precision in comparison with Q1 and Q2, leading to a drop in final lap time.
Photograph by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Staff, within the submit Qualifying Press Convention
Stroll defined that this damage the dealing with traits of the automobile, however that different drivers struggled extra having gone out onto the circuit later.
“I nonetheless actually felt crap within the automobile, it was actually tough in Q3 and the wind modified path, so it was nonetheless actually robust. However I feel we did a very good job getting each vehicles, me and Fernando on the entrance of the queue, and the crew did a very good job at giving us an try earlier than the unhealthy climate got here in.
“It appears like numerous guys missed their laps or did not get them in for no matter cause, so I feel we made our personal luck right now.”
Explaining Aston Martin’s upturn in fortunes, which surged from a double-Q1 elimination in Mexico qualifying to each drivers stepping into the highest 10, Stroll defined that the general circuit situations at Interlagos had been far more beneficial to the AMR23 bundle.
He reckoned that his race fortunes in Austin had been stronger however masked by a poor qualifying, and that the Brazil spherical hinted {that a} nook had been turned on single-lap tempo.
“We had been aggressive and I used to be feeling good within the automobile, so it was undoubtedly a significantly better day for us than we have had shortly. Mexico is a tricky observe for everybody, excessive altitude and low grip,” he defined.
“The steadiness was good all day, I felt good grip within the automobile, and that is when you may maintain bettering, tidy issues up, and maintain it clear.”