Aston Martin's Lance Stroll Appears To Give Team Member A Shove, Punches Wall After Another Disappointing Qualifying Session

It was a rough day at the office for Aston Martin's Lance Stroll who saw his fourth straight Q1 elimination and will start Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix in P18.

While his teammate Fernando Alonso has been racking up some podiums (and will start on the second row in P4 on Sunday), Stroll has failed to get on the podium once this season in a car that is certainly capable on a lot of weekends.

He is no doubt aware of this, and the frustration is mounting.

After being sent to the showers by being one of the five slowest drivers in the first session of qualifying, Stroll was clearly agitated. He appeared to shove away a team member — perhaps his physiotherapist — after a few words. The Canadian then walked to the back of the garage and could be seen punching the wall.

That frustration was still front and center by the time Stroll made his way over to the media.

Stroll was asked about his emotions in the moment and he gave a simple, succinct answer that really summed everything up: "Yeah, s--t."

The 24-year-old — whose old man owns the team — said he wasn't sure what it has been giving him trouble as of late.

The struggle for Aston Martin's Lance Stroll continued in Qatar. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Stroll, Aston Martin Have Left Some Serious Points On The Table This Season

While Stroll's season started with a heroic drive with a broken wrist in Bahrain, the rest of the campaign has been a real struggle.

You can understand the frustration for Stroll, but also the entire team. Stroll has scored just 47 pints to Alonso's 174 ahead of this weekend's print race and grand prix. Aston Martin's car is fully capable of scoring almost every weekend. So, it's safe to say that Stroll has underperformed and left a hefty number of points on the table.

This could be especially crucial as McLaren continues to perform reasonably well and is 49 points behind them for P4 in the constructors' standings with 6 grand prix and a sprint race remaining.

Aston Martin announced plans to compete at Le Mans in 2025, so maybe the time has come for Lance Stroll to step aside and pursue another series. He's a very capable driver, but inconsistent and somewhat prone to bouts of the yips.

Alonso is driving about as well as he has in a decade, so maybe the team needs some new blood and a fresh perspective in the second seat.

I think it's unlikely this will happen, but there are plenty of suitable options. Liam Lawson, F2 points leader Théo Pourchaire, or even IndyCar champ Alex Palou could be really good options if the team — or Lance himself — decides it's time for a break.

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