Lance Stroll admits his recent slump in results “hasn’t been fun” following an impressive start to the season.
As Racing Point emerged as the third-best team in the first half of the revised schedule, the Canadian was finally proving his doubters wrong with some strong performances, notably finishing fourth in Hungary and Spain.
Stroll’s best finish came at Monza, where he scored his second Formula 1 podium in third, however, since then the 21-year-old has failed to score a single point, only reaching the chequered flag once.
That run has dramatically impacted Racing Point’s hopes of finishing P3 in this year’s Constructors’ Championship, where the team is now a point behind Renault and level with McLaren.
But team boss Otmar Szafnauer hopes the worst is now behind Stroll.
“I certainly hope we’ve used up all our bad luck in the last few races, that’s for sure!” he said.
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“We shouldn’t forget this has been Lance’s best season in Formula 1 to date. He’s not only taken a podium, but he’s also found a much greater level of consistency. After eight races he was P4 in the standings and on fantastic form.
“Unfortunately, since then he’s had a series of setbacks that have been largely out of his hands,” Szafnauer added.
“He was firmly in podium contention in Mugello before a freak puncture took him out of the race and was looking good in Russia before he was hit by [Charles] Leclerc.
“Of course, he then missed Germany through illness and all that positive momentum he had worked so hard to build was swept out from underneath him. But now, Lance is in great shape, firing on all cylinders and he’s ready for the final few races.”
While luck hasn’t been on Stroll’s side, there has also been a few more errors creep back in, notably two collisions at Portimao and hitting his front jack man during a pit-stop at Imola.
And Lance admits the impetus is on him to regain his form.
“It hasn’t been fun, I am not going to lie,” he said of the past few races via Formula1.com, ahead of this weekend’s Turkish GP.
“It’s been frustrating at times. This sport is a rollercoaster. I’ve had some highs at the beginning of the season, up until Monza really it’s been a great season for me but unfortunately, now I’ve gone through a rough patch. There’s nothing I can do about it.
“In hindsight, there are definitely some things I believe I could have done differently, there have been some mistakes I’ve made in some of the races which cost me some points but then there’s been some unfortunate circumstances like in Mugello, like Russia then of course missing the race in Nurburgring was far from ideal.
“That’s in the past now, there’s nothing that I can do about it. Instead of dwelling on it, I am looking forward to the next four races.
“I know we have a strong package and there’s plenty of opportunity in the next four races to come back strong and my sights are set on this weekend as it stands and of course the remainder of the season.”