Lance Stroll's unaired team radio during Bahrain Grand Prix completely sums up his season
Lance Stroll revealed his frustration in an expletive-laden unaired exchange over Aston Martin team radio at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday.
The Formula 1 backmarker received clear technical advice from his race engineer but defied the instruction to hold back with a car in front to stay 'flat out'.
Stroll eventually crossed the line in 12th place, securing his best result of a season that's offered few positives.
Lance Stroll overrules engineer in X-rated response
After being told to ease up through turn 12 while trailing Esteban Ocon's Haas in order to preserve his battery, Stroll kept his foot down and said: "No, I'm pushing flat out. F*** this s***."
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It was a comment that's been interpreted by some fans as a weary reaction to the 2026 season as a whole.
Stroll has been widely ridiculed this season, not least since it was confirmed that he would continue to occupy a seat with Aston Martin into next season despite a total dearth of results on the track.
His father, Laurence, is the billionaire owner of the team, which makes it easy to target the driver.
Stroll's audible frustration in Sepang and his wish to stay on the accelerator in spite of technical advice briefly exposed that the driver himself is far from content to operate as an also-ran and spend his race weekends simply trying to stay out of trouble.
The Canadian picked up 33 points in the 2025 season, his ninth in Formula 1 and his second-lowest in terms of the world drivers' championship standings.
He's finished in the top 10 only once, in 2023, and a lack of competitiveness in the middle of the grid has this season given way to a string of abject Grand Prix outcomes.
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Lance Stroll's 2026 leaves a lot to be desired
It's little surprise that Stroll's results have left both team and driver open to criciticism.
After 16 races, Stroll has failed to finish 11 and retired from 10 – three more than Valtteri Bottas of Cadillac.
Stroll, Bottas and the Finn's Cadillac teammate Sergio Perez are the only drivers yet to claim a single point in 2026. Yuki Tsunoda, who has three races to his name, is above them in the standings.
The upcoming Singapore GP is Stroll's next opportunity not only to improve on his highest classification to date, but to complete back-to-back Grands Prix for just the second time this season.
He finished 17th in Miami and then 15th in Montreal but his previous best finish, at the Hungaroring, was followed by a season-worst run of four consecutive retirements immediately before Stroll finished two places outside the points at Sepang.
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Topics: Formula 1
Chris Nee