F1 News: Lance Stroll Lashes Out At Engineer During United States Grand Prix Weekend

This is becoming a trend.

Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll has been in the news for the wrong reasons recently, after incidents in Qatar that attracted an FIA investigation for misconduct. The latest incident comes from the United States Grand Prix Sprint Race where he swore over the team radio to his race engineer while complaining about his F1 car. 

It remains clear that Stroll has been facing issues that have caused his frustration levels to shoot up. He was under investigation by the FIA during the Qatar Grand Prix weekend following an early exit from Q1 that led him to throw his steering wheel across the car, followed by the shoving of his trainer- an episode that was well caught on camera. 

In addition, he also missed the post-session weigh-in - a mandatory requirement for drivers. After receiving an apology, the governing body issued a warning to Stroll for his misconduct. However, many pointed out that maybe he wasn't dealt with properly within the team due to his father and team owner Lawrence Stroll's influence.

Stroll was the only driver to retire from the Sprint race in Austin after he complained of having brake issues in lap 17. Before that, the tire degradation frustrated him greatly and he vented his anger at team engineer Ben Michell.

On lap 16, Michell informed Stroll that Alonso was approaching. But without waiting for further instructions from his team, he decided to let him pass saying “He can go, my tires are gone, I'll let him pass.”

Things got uglier a lap later. Stroll reached the peak of his frustration when Michell urged him to press on. Here's how their conversation went:

BM: Okay Lance, just keep your head down. Do what you can to control…

LS: I’m doing it man, it’s s**t. It’s just f**king s**t!

AM: Okay Lance, [tyre] deg is high for everybody. Keep focused

LS: Yeah well it’s higher for me so.

Another lap went by and Stroll hit the pits after complaining of a brake issue. While Alonso remains the Aston Martin F1 team's sole torchbearer, a drop in the AMR23's pace post-summer break has raised several eyebrows after considering the fine start the team had in the initial races of the 2023 season.