Sky F1 pundit says 25-year-old looked ‘jittery’ in Saudi Arabia practice

Follow us on Google Discover

Lance Stroll was fighting his Aston Martin car during practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Sky Sports F1 pundit Anthony Davidson says.

Stroll clipped the inside wall at turn 22 in the opening session of the weekend, causing damage to his AMR24.

And speaking in commentary, Davidson noticed that the Canadian was adopting a ‘unique’ driving style.

Stroll ultimately finished the session in ninth place, just under a second off the pace of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.

Meanwhile, teammate Fernando Alonso was second and within two tenths of the reigning world champion.

It’s a result that bodes well for Aston Martin’s prospects in Jeddah, though Stroll will look to close the gap as the weekend progresses.

He got a point on the board in Bahrain last time out as he finished in 10th place, just one spot behind Alonso.

Anthony Davidson makes ‘see-saw’ observation about Lance Stroll driving

During on-board footage of one of Stroll’s laps later in the session, Davidson said he looked ‘desperate to feel the grip’.

He says it’s a consistent them with the 25-year-old’s driving and noted the contrast with some of his ‘very smooth’ peers.

The style is ‘very effective’ in the rain – Stroll took his one and only pole position to date in wet weather in Turkey in 2020 – but can look a little erratic in the dry.

He said (14:27): “You’re looking for that smooth, constant steering angle and Stroll seems to have this style where he does fight the car a little bit more.

“It’s a lot of quick steering movements going on, a lot of see-sawing of the wheel as he’s desperate to feel the grip.

“That grip and slip relationship the tyre has with the tarmac and you see some drivers very smooth on the wheel, but Lance always has that kind of jittery, see-saw action.

“I see this quite a lot with him, he’s desperate to try and make micro-adjustments and just feel for the front axle.

“It’s quite a unique style as you don’t really see any other driver like that and I think it becomes very effective actually in wetter conditions.

“He’s often super-quick in the rain.”

Aston Martin show signs of life in Jeddah

Aston Martin will hope Alonso’s FP1 showing is a sign of things to come in Saudi Arabia after a somewhat disappointing start to the season.

Alonso, who finished on the podium in Bahrain in 2023, looked ‘dispirited’ as he dropped down from sixth on the grid to ninth, according to Sky F1’s Martin Brundle.

Brundle said the pace of the car didn’t look ‘particularly impressive’ as they walked away with just three points on the board.

However, this 3.8-mile circuit is, in the words of Verstappen, ‘completely different’ in profile, and should offer more clues as to the potential of each car over the course of the season.