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Lance Stroll stunned the F1 grid with his pole position at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, and has recently admitted to ‘messing around’ with a now-banned rule in the sport to aid his feat.
The Canadian driver had a promising start to his F1 career as he secured a podium during his debut season with Williams, but had to wait four years before clinching his first pole position.
That feat came at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, a race that was introduced to the calendar as a substitute circuit due to the many cancellations that came amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stroll’s pole position was overshadowed during a thrilling Grand Prix, which was won by Lewis Hamilton as he clinched his seventh world title at the Istanbul-based circuit.
The grid revisited the track in 2021, but was subsequently dropped by the sport’s governing body in the ensuing years, much to the dismay of F1 fans who are keen to see Turkey return as a permanent spot on the calendar in the future.
Lance Stroll admits to ‘messing around’ with tyre pressures before his pole position at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix
Ahead of F1’s return to Istanbul in 2020, circuit officials made the decision to resurface the track, which had exciting consequences due to the heavy rain that fell in the area over the course of the race weekend.
The track became somewhat of an ice rink for the drivers, with it becoming clear that whoever could work around the difficult conditions would have the best shot at leading the pack into turn one come race day.
Asked about the best moment of his F1 career to date in a sit-down interview on Aston Martin’s official YouTube channel, Stroll recalled the events of the qualifying that saw him pip Max Verstappen to pole position.
“Those laps on Saturday when it all comes together, those days on Sunday where like we just get the strategy right and get that perfect result that we’re all looking for,” Stroll told presenter Jake Humphrey.
“I think back to Istanbul in the rain in 2020, when we snatched pole position. The conditions were super tricky. It was really slippery. It was just all about getting the tyres in the window.
“We were messing around with the tyre pressures throughout the session, just seeing kind of what would work. And then in Q3, we got the pressures just right, and I just had like a clear track ahead. I had a good feel of what the car was doing.
“And then it was just that flow state feeling of being totally in the moment and just an awesome, awesome experience. I don’t know how else to describe it. It was one of those special days.”
Stroll led all but three of the opening 35 laps during the race, with a pit stop to tack on a fresh set of intermediate tyres proving to be his downfall.
Hamilton, who finished the race on the same set of tyres he requested on lap eight, went on to win the race by a margin of over 30 seconds to Stroll’s teammate at the time, Sergio Perez.
Hamilton’s win holds a special place in the heart of Isack Hadjar, with the current Racing Bulls driver highlighting how the seven-time world champion ‘raised the level’ that weekend.
What were the previous tyre pressure rules in Formula 1?
In 2020, F1’s tyre pressure rules were largely race-specific, which focused mainly on the minimum pressure allowed, as opposed to the minimum and maximum tyre pressures that are now defined for teams.
Pirelli and the FIA used to adjust minimum pressures from event to event based on observed loads and the risk of blistering, which often led to them raising the minimum pressures during race weekends.
As of the current campaign, that flexibility has been greatly reduced. Minimum starting pressures are now strictly defined and can be raised during a weekend only through FIA-approved reviews.
Regulations have also expanded to limit how tyres can be heated and managed. Blanket temperatures and duration are capped, and heating through brake systems or rims is banned completely.
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