Lance Stroll did little to persuade his critics in 2019, being routinely out-qualified and out-raced by his team-mate. Here are all the facts and statistics from his 2019 season.
The statistics show that Lance Stroll was Formula 1’s best starter in 2019, gaining a massive 38 positions in total on the first lap during the 21 Grands Prix – twelve more than any other driver. That perhaps says more about the relative pace of his Racing Point car and his out of position qualifying results.
In his first year at Racing Point – the team which his father owns – Stroll scored 21 points. His best result was fourth place in the hectic German Grand Prix, thanks to a spot on strategy call. While team-mate Sergio Perez reached Q3 on four occasions, the only time Stroll reached the final part of qualifying was in Italy. The only race he lost positions in? Italy. Stroll racked up fourteen Q1 exits this season, by far the most of any driver aside from the Williams pair.
The team made a step forward in the second half of the year, with Perez scoring in eight of the last nine races. In that time, Stroll scored only three points. Regardless, Stroll’s place at the team seems safe for as long as his father is in charge.
[one_half]
RACE STATISTICS
- Championship Position: 15
- Total Points: 21
- % of teams’ points scored: 29%
- Points Scoring Races: 6
- Best finish: 4th (Germany)
- Number of DNFs: 3
- Laps Led: 0
- Laps Complete: 1211 (6th)
- % of Laps Complete: 95.96%
- Distance Covered: 6135.865km
- Races gained positions in: 16
- Races lost positions in: 1
- Finished where started: 1
- Total positions gained on first laps: 38
[/one_half][one_half_last]
QUALIFYING STATISTICS
- Q3 Appearances: 1
- Q2 Exits: 6
- Q1 Exits: 14
- Best Qualifying Position: 9th (Italy)
- Worst Qualifying Position: 19th (Hungary)
- Average Qualifying Position: 15.81
- Average Grid Position: 15.29
- Average Gap to own potential qualifying pace: 0.085
- Achieved own ultimate pace: 5
- Beat team-mate in how many qualifying sectors: 18 / 63
- Average gap to team-mate per sector in qualifying: +0.098
[/one_half_last]
A STATISTIC FOR EVERY GRAND PRIX
Australia: In the 300th race to feature a Canadian driver, and in his first race with Racing Point, Lance Stroll scored at Albert Park for the first time in the 2019 Australian Grand Prix. Stroll was the driver who gained the most positions in the race, climbing seven places to finish ninth.
Bahrain: At the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix, Lance Stroll recorded his sixth consecutive Q1 exit. He was the driver with the longest active streak of Q1 eliminations on the grid, having failed to progress to Q2 since the 2018 Japanese Grand Prix.
China: While Lance Stroll was eliminated in the first part of qualifying for a seventh consecutive race at the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix, he recorded his best Shanghai finishing position with twelfth – bettering his fourteenth place in 2018.
Azerbaijan: Lance Stroll’s eighth consecutive Q1 exit at the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix marked the first time a Racing Point/Force India car had been eliminated in Q1 in Baku. With ninth in the race, Stroll recorded his worst Azerbaijan Grand Prix result, but maintained his 100% points-scoring record at the circuit.
Spain: Despite it being his best qualifying position so far at the Catalunya track, Lance Stroll recorded his ninth consecutive Q1 exit at the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix. It was the first time a Racing Point (Force India) driver had been eliminated in Q1 at the Spanish Grand Prix since 2015. In the race, Stroll recorded his first DNF since the 2018 German Grand Prix after a collision with Lando Norris.
Monaco: At the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix, Lance Stroll qualified in eighteenth for the third time in three visits to the event. He also started from seventeenth on the grid for a third successive Monaco race.
Canada: With his eleventh consecutive Q1 exit at the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix, Lance Stroll equalled Daniel Ricciardo as the driver on the 2019 grid to have the most consecutive Q1 exits. Ricciardo had eleven in a row in the first eleven races of his career.
France: Lance Stroll reached a twelfth consecutive Q1 exit at the 2019 French Grand Prix, a new record among current drivers for the most consecutive Q1 exits in their career. With 35 Q1 eliminations overall at this point, he had the most exits in the first part of qualifying of any driver on this year’s grid.
Austria: Lance Stroll made his 50th Grand Prix appearance at the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix. He was eliminated in Q1 for the 36th time in his career, giving him an overall Q1 elimination rate of 72%. That’s the worst Q1 exit rate on the current grid aside from George Russell, who is yet to progress to Q2.
Britain: Lance Stroll recorded Racing Point’s (Force India) first Q1 exit at Silverstone since 2009. It marked the team’s 100th Q1 exit since they were renamed Force India in 2008. That means 10% of their Q1 exits had been courtesy of Stroll, who was yet to progress past Q1 with the team.
Germany: Lance Stroll ended his fourteen race streak of Q1 exits by reaching Q2 at the 2019 German Grand Prix. It was the first time he had reached Q2 since the 2018 Japanese Grand Prix. In the race, he recorded his second-best ever finish with fourth place.
Hungary: At the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, Lance Stroll became the only driver to have not lost a position from his starting place in 2019. He had also gained the most positions of any driver up to that point in 2019, with a total of 49 positions gained.
Belgium: With tenth place at the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix, Lance Stroll secured his first point at Spa, while also maintaining his 100% finish rate at the circuit.
Italy: Lance Stroll appeared in Q3 for the first time in 2019 at the Italian Grand Prix. It was the fifth top ten qualification of his career, and his first since the 2018 Italian Grand Prix. The Canadian has never failed to reach Q3 at Monza, meaning three of his five top ten qualifications have come at this track. Max Verstappen became the 18th driver to be out in Q1 in 2019, while Stroll became the 18th driver to reach Q3 this year.
Singapore: At the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix, Lance Stroll recorded the first Q1 exit for a Racing Point (formerly Force India) driver at the Marina Bay Circuit since Paul di Resta in 2013.
Russia: Lance Stroll gained three places from where he started at the 2019 United States Grand Prix, moving from fourteenth on the grid to eleventh at the finish line.
Japan: With ninth place in the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix, Lance Stroll scored at Suzuka for the first time. He also recorded his best qualifying result so far at the circuit, with twelfth place.
Mexico: Lance Stroll’s 16th place qualification at the 2019 Mexico Grand Prix marked the first time a Racing Point (Force India) car had been eliminated in Q1 at the Mexico Grand Prix.
United States: The 2019 United States Grand Prix was the first time that Lance Stroll has not qualified in seventeenth place at the Circuit of the Americas, and the first time he hasn’t started from fifteenth on the grid at the track.
Brazil: At the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix, Lance Stroll recorded the first DNF from seventeenth on the grid at Interlagos since Heikki Kovalainen in 2007. It was Stroll’s first retirement since the Spanish Grand Prix. Stroll is still yet to make it out of Q1 in Brazil, but 17th marked his best qualifying result so far at the event.
Abu Dhabi: Lance Stroll was the only retirement from the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, making it the first race at the Yas Marina Circuit which had only one non-finisher since the 2015 event. It was the fourth consecutive season that the driver starting from twelfth on the grid at the track has failed to finish the race.
