Jolyon Palmer provides his theory after Lance Stroll’s ‘very strange’ Sao Paulo Grand Prix spin

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Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll had a Sunday to forget at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

In an incredibly entertaining and action-packed season, the Sunday of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix may be remembered as the most enthralling day of the campaign.

Qualifying for the race was cancelled on Saturday leading to the earliest qualifying session in Formula 1’s history the following day.

Conditions were still incredibly difficult and after five red flags due to five different crashes, Lando Norris secured pole position for McLaren.

The grid was completely jumbled up with Max Verstappen starting in 17th, but that’s not where the talking points ended.

Alex Albon had the biggest shunt out of all of the drivers in qualifying and Williams couldn’t repair his car in time to start the race.

Carlos Sainz was forced to start from the pit lane, while both Aston Martin drivers had their cars repaired after Lance Stroll crashed in Q2 and Fernando Alonso hit the barriers in Q3.

Aston Martin did incredibly well to repair both cars in time for the race which started just five hours after qualifying began.

However, Stroll’s race ended before it even started and Jolyon Palmer, commentating on BBC Sport, shared his theory about why the Canadian driver ended up failing to take the start.

Jolyon Palmer shares Lance Stroll theory after ‘very strange’ Brazilian Grand Prix formation lap spin

Stroll was driving down towards turn four on the formation lap before bizarrely spinning out onto the tarmac runoff area.

He was taking his time to return to the track but then ended up getting beached in a gravel trap, bringing his race to an end.

It will be incredibly frustrating for his engineers and mechanics who had to do everything possible to fix his car ahead of the Grand Prix.

Palmer had another idea about why Stroll may have spun out and said: “I think that may well have been a mechanical failure for Stroll, that was a very strange looking incident and he was one of those drivers who crashed earlier on, so possibly Aston Martin rushing the car together.”

READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Lando Norris then set off on a second formation lap when he should have stayed on the grid and Palmer continued: “Carnage at the start of this race.

“One car is out, others not starting, Sainz is still in the pit lane and now we have the cars forming up once again and I don’t know if we will get going this time or if there will be a delay.”

On the team radio after his spin, Stroll said: “I just locked, as soon as I braked, I just locked everything.”

Aston Martin having a nightmare 2024 Formula 1 season

At the beginning of last season, Aston Martin were the second-fastest team on the grid behind Red Bull.

Fernando Alonso scored eight podiums last year, but this season has been a disaster in comparison.

Alonso has explained what Aston Martin need to do to challenge for championships, but simply scoring points is a more realistic aim at this stage.

Haas and RB look unlikely to catch Aston Martin in the Constructors’ Championship, but they also appear like they’re going to struggle to reach 100 points this season.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Alonso has nearly tripled Stroll’s points tally and the two-time world champion has shown that he can still extract the maximum out of a car.

Stroll, on the other hand, has been off the pace for some time and it was fitting that the cameras panned to hometown hero and Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich when his car was beached in the gravel.