Aston steps in to defend Stroll after Monza frustrations

Lance Stroll’s troubled 2025 campaign continued at Monza, where the Canadian trailed teammate Fernando Alonso once more and forced Aston Martin to explain his lacklustre post-race conduct.

The 26-year-old has now been outqualified by Alonso in all of the past consecutive 28 sessions, and managed only 18th place in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix.

His responses in the media pen afterwards were strikingly brief. Asked if P18 was the maximum achievable, Stroll answered: "Yep." How did the car feel? "It was ok."

Even when reminded of being forced wide by Esteban Ocon - who was penalised and handed a licence point - Stroll offered little.

"Not much," he said when questioned on the incident. "I have nothing to say about it."

Aston Martin trackside director Mike Krack moved to shield his driver, framing the attitude as understandable disappointment. "In these kinds of situations, where you have a race with virtually no relegation and you start from the back, you just have to hope for opportunities," Krack said.

"We always anticipate safety cars after our pitstops. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. It's normal to feel a certain amount of frustration then. You're pushing yourself to the limit, but fighting for nothing."

The Monza weekend followed Stroll’s firm denial of reports that he had recently asked his father, team owner Lawrence Stroll, for permission to walk away from Formula 1.