In a defiant move at Aston Martin, Lance Stroll ignored a team directive intended to assist teammate Fernando Alonso.
While one of the main topics at the end of the race in Hungary was the negotiation between Lando Norris and his engineer for the Brit to return the position to his McLaren F1 teammate, Oscar Piastri, who had lost the race lead due to the team’s decision.
And while Norris complied, albeit with difficulty, a completely different situation occurred at Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso was ordered to let Lance Stroll pass to attempt to overtake Yuki Tsunoda, then in ninth.
“Fernando, we’re giving you one lap to catch up, but otherwise, we’ll give Lance a chance. But if he can’t make it, we’ll swap positions back,” stated Chris Cronin, the engineer of the two-time world champion.
Stroll’s engineer, Andrew Vizard, relayed the message that he would have assistance from his teammate: “Fernando will give you the DRS, we’ll pass at turn 1 and then, we need to go after Tsunoda. All for Tsunoda, otherwise we’ll revert positions at the end of the race.”
However, the Canadian driver responded on the radio that he didn’t need this instruction, clearly already contemplating what would happen if he didn’t pass Tsunoda: “I would have passed Fernando, but okay.”
Alonso was then instructed to stay close to Stroll so he could easily regain his position. On the other side of the garage, Stroll received a clear order on the last lap: “Lance, if you don’t pass him now, we need to swap before the line. Fernando is 4 seconds behind you, no pressure.”
In a final attempt by his engineer, who said, “Lance, I suggest you slow down, let Fernando pass,” Stroll did not respond and secured the tenth place point. Neither driver commented post-race on the matter, but it undoubtedly was a topic at the debrief.
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Stroll Rejects Team Order to Favor Alonso Stroll Rejects Team Order to Favor Alonso
