Stroll addresses Aston Martin’s engine challenges

“Some seasons you get in the car and it’s magic, and some seasons you get in the car and it’s sh*t, and you just have to go with it,” Jewish Formula 1 driver Lance Stroll told journalists at Melbourne’s Albert Park on Thursday.

Stroll, now beginning his tenth season on the grid, managed a respectable sixth place at last year’s Australian Grand Prix. But this year, major issues with his team Aston Martin’s new Honda engine and resulting severe vibration through the car mean neither Stroll nor his teammate Fernando Alonso will actually be able to complete Sunday’s race.

Stroll, who is the son of team owner Lawrence Stroll, seemed to take it all in his stride on Thursday. “That level of vibration, it’s not good for the engine, It’s not good for anything in the car, human included,” Stroll said matter-of-factly.

“There was some work done the last couple of weeks since [testing in] Bahrain to try and fix it, and if that’s better, then we should be in a better position this weekend, if not, it’s going to be yeah, difficult to complete laps.”

Stroll managed just three laps in his problematic Aston Martin during Free Practice 1 on Friday afternoon, with a time more than 30 seconds slower than any other driver. Teammate Alonso did not practice due to a power unit issue.