MIAMI, Florida — Lance Stroll missed out on advancing to Q2 in qualifying for the F1 Sprint race here at the Miami Grand Prix, and the Aston Martin driver has an idea why.
None other than reigning Drivers’ Champion Max Verstappen.
As Stroll was on his final push lap at the end of Q1 he encountered Verstappen on the racing line near Turn 17. Verstappen was not on a push lap of his own and was keeping a slower pace, which forced Stroll to brake before sweeping around him.
In the car Stroll said to his team at the time “[m]an, the guy in the last corner was so dangerous. He just stayed on the [racing] line.”
He missed out on Q2 by just 0.114 seconds but believes that were it not for Verstappen, he would have advanced.
“We just had traffic the whole way through the lap,” Stroll told the official F1 channel after the session. “Verstappen [was] just completely in the middle of the track in the last corner.
“So we had to brake on the inside of the track and we lost like three or four tenths just there. So we’ll see what happens.”
Stroll indicated that he hopes race officials look into the matter.
“It just costs you lap time,” added the Aston Martin driver. “It’s just tenths going out the window.
“I hope they investigate it because if we can just all do that and drive on the line, it’s not so fun for the guys on push-laps. But we’ll see what happens.”
It appears that Stroll will get his wish. Verstappen has been summoned to meet with race officials for an alleged failure to follow the Race Director’s Event Notes.
This post will be updated
