29/08/2025 19:15
Lance Stroll is confident Aston Martin can force its way into the
top two rows in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix despite giving
his mechanics an overnight repair headache following a major smash
in second practice. FP2 at Zandvoort was just 11 minutes old when
Stroll crashed into the barriers at the circuit's renowned
left-hand banking at Turn 3, destroying the right-hand side of his
car. Team-mate Fernando Alonso went on to split McLaren duo Lando
Norris and Oscar Piastri at the end of the session, finishing just
0.087s behind the Briton and two-thousandths ahead of the
Australian, with the trio the only drivers to dip below 70 seconds.
Reflecting on his crash initially, and mercifully avoiding a trip
to the medical centre and the possibility of any complications over
his past broken wrist injuries, Stroll described what occurred as
"just a little lock-up". He added: "From there, I was just a
passenger. Just one of those things." Stroll was at least buoyed by
the performance of the AMR25, following on from its performance at
another similarly tight, twisty track last time out before the
summer break in Budapest's Hungaroring. At the end of FP1 in
Zandvoort, the Canadian driver and Alonso finished third and fourth
quickest respectively behind the McLaren pair, with Norris again
the spearhead. "For sure, we looked competitive throughout the
day, and with Fernando in FP2," said Stroll. "We're in a good spot,
and we'll see what we can do tomorrow." As for qualifying and
whether he and Alonso could fight for the front two rows, he said:
"I think so. For sure, it looks that way. We'll see."
