Lance Stroll rued a bad start after the red flag as he had to settle for third at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Canadian benefitted from not pitting at all before the mid-race red flag to jump upto second, but a poor launch off the line and heading down the escape road at the Roggia chicane at the restart dropped him down several positions.
Penalties for Lewis Hamilton and Antonio Giovinazzi plus an easy pass on a slow Kimi Raikkonen moved Stroll back into the podium places and he would hold on to claim his second F1 trophy in third.
“It has been a couple of years since I stood on the podium, so it feels good to be back, and it was such a crazy race,” the Racing Point man said post-race.
“I am so happy for Pierre [Gasly], he really deserved it [the win] as he had a really great start. He stayed consistent all the way throughout the race.
“It is a bit of a bummer. I think it was kind of mine to lose starting from second, but I just had no grip at the start. I had a ton of wheelspin and everyone flew by me.
“I had a good scrap with Carlos [Sainz] on the first couple of laps, and I overtook around the outside, but he got me again down into Turn 1.
“We were battling out there, so I am happy to pick up third. I think the win slipped away from us today, but third is great.”
Stroll’s second career podium follows his first in Baku with Williams back in 2017 and marks Racing Point’s first under their current name.
