Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying red-flagged as Lance Stroll suffers heavy crash

Lance Stroll has suffered a heavy crash in qualifying for tomorrow’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Aston Martin driver took too much speed into turn two and smashed into the concrete wall. 

The impact ripped off his front wing and front right tyre, bringing out the red flag. Stroll had almost crashed moments earlier, locking up his tyres and almost striking the wall at turn seven. Reports on social media suggest Stroll had radioed his team to check for damage after his first incident. 

There are claims Stroll suggested the team pitted to check if the car was okay but was told there was no time to pit and to continue on another lap. Qualifying restarted around ten minutes later at 18.40 local time (15.40pm UK time).

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He said: “We had a successful day of practice and have already learned a lot and achieved some good lap times ready for the rest of the weekend.

“Although I had a brush with the barrier, thankfully it did not affect our running as nothing was broken, so I managed to get away with it. It was all part of getting into the rhythm of the circuit and finding the limits. I really enjoy this track and I think it is a fun challenge, so I am very much looking forward to getting back out here tomorrow.”

Stroll has struggled so far this season, scoring just two points across the first seven races. 

These came from a pair of 10th placed finishes at Imola and Miami as the team struggles for pace. Team-mate Sebastian Vettel has not fared much better having scored just five points over the campaign.