SportPesa Racing Formula 1 Driver Stroll Inspired With Performance, Leclerc Sets Pace In Barcelona Circuit
1st March 2019
The Belgian-Canadian speed ace clocked fastest time to finish seventh ahead of world champion Lewis Hamilton in the Thursday showdown
- SportPesa Racing Point F1 team driver Lance Stroll clocked 1:17.556 to finish seventh in the Barcelona pre-season testing on Thursday
- Stroll out did world champion Lewis Hamilton who was only 10th in his Mercedes with teammate Valtteri Bottas three places further back
- SportPesa Racing Point Performance Engineering Director, Tom McCullough explained that their first six days of testing have been about data gathering and learning as they focus their preparation for Melbourne
BARCELONA, Spain- SportPesa Racing Point F1 team driver Lance Stroll clocked 1:17.556 to finish seventh in the Barcelona pre-season testing on Thursday.
The contest was won by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who finished in 1:16.231 off 138 laps with Thailand's Alexander Albon, in a Toro Rosso, the only other driver to dip below 1min 17sec on the penultimate day of testing ahead of the season-opener in Melbourne on March 17.
“It’s been another positive day in the car and a good way to finish my pre-season programme. We covered a lot of kilometres today - the most I’ve done on a single day all winter - and now I am really looking forward to going racing,” underlined Stroll.
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Stroll, who managed to complete 103 laps with the car covering 479km, added: “We are going to keep learning about our new car, both tomorrow (Friday) on our last day with Sergio (Perez) in the car and back at base, and we are going to bring the best possible package to Melbourne.”
He out did world champion Lewis Hamilton who was only 10th in his Mercedes with teammate Valtteri Bottas three places further back.
“It’s really tough to predict where we stand once we start racing: everyone is working on different programmes, but I start the season with a positive mindset,” Stroll highlighted.
Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Scuderia Ferrari SF90 on track during day seven of F1 Winter Testing. PHOTO/GETTY IMAGES
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SportPesa Racing Point Performance Engineering Director, Tom McCullough explained that their first six days of testing have been about data gathering and learning as they focus their preparation for Melbourne.
“It was Stroll’s last day in the car and we went through a lot of the procedural work we will put into practice in Australia.
“We did some performance work in the morning, while the afternoon was all about long runs. Our mileage was very positive with over 100 laps completed.
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“Tomorrow (Friday) will be the last day of our pre-season and we will have a similar programme with Sergio on his last day in the car before Melbourne,” McCullough underscored.
BARCELONA PRE-SEASON TESTING
Week 2, Day 3: 28 February 2019
Laps: 103
Best time: 1:17.556
Position: P7 of P13
Mileage: 479km