Lance Stroll in hot water with FIA over 'several incidents' at Qatar Grand Prix

10 October 2023 , 19:27

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Lance Stroll at the Qatar Grand Prix (Image: Hasan Bratic/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

The FIA is investigating Lance Stroll over "several incidents that may have contravened rules" at the Qatar Grand Prix.

The Canadian made headlines at the Losail International Circuit for an incident during qualifying. He was spotted by TV cameras pushing a member of staff in the Aston Martin garage after he was knocked out in Q1.

His trainer, Henry Howe, had been directing him to the front of the garage to be weighed after getting out of the car, as is FIA protocol. But Stroll angrily pushed Howe away before disappearing out of sight.

Shortly afterwards, he appeared to complete his media duties but was notably brief in doing so. He answered three questions with six words in front of the F1 TV cameras – swearing as he did so – before walking off.

An FIA statement read: "The FIA Compliance Officer is in discussion with Lance Stroll in relation to several incidents that may have contravened FIA rules, policies and procedures during the Qatar Grand Prix."

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While the FIA did not specify what incidents it was referring to, Mirror Sport understands that the garage pushing incident and Stroll's subsequent actions in the media pen are the main reasons for the probe. The Aston Martin F1 team declined to comment when approached by

Speaking later in the weekend, Stroll said there was not lasting damage done to his relationship with Howe. "We're good. He's a bro. We go through the frustrations together and we ride together, so we're cool. I'm not looking at social media. I'm in the car driving this weekend," the Canadian said.

"We're in a rut and it's not getting. Frustration is just, I think, in the whole group right now. I mean, we want to do better, we want to get better, but it's just a struggle right now. I'm just struggling with the car and just getting to grips with the balance.

"I'm just not able to extract performance from it right now, which is just difficult and frustrating. I feel like I can't really lean on the car and drive it with confidence without dealing with snaps and understeer. I f***ing hate having a bad day. It's not going to change."

Stroll rose several places during Sunday's race but was unable to turn it into a points finish. He took the chequered flag 11th, one-and-a-half seconds behind Sergio Perez who was relegated to 10th place after picking up three time penalties.

Daniel Moxon