The final practice session at the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday ended with a series of controversial incidents. A number of drivers faced a trip to the stewards before qualifying as a result.
Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc were among that group. Leclerc was on a fast lap at the end of the session, while Norris was going slowly.
On the run towards turn seven, Norris pulled over to the left side of the track to let Leclerc by. However, after inching past the McLaren, the Ferrari driver moved across, leading to light contact between the two.
Fortunately for both drivers, they avoided any major damage. But there was a near-miss for Max Verstappen behind them as he arrived on the scene of the slow-moving Norris at the apex of seven.
Later on, there was an on-track spat between Lance Stroll and Lewis Hamilton. Stroll thought that Hamilton didn’t get out of the way quickly enough at turn five and his frustration boiled over.
The Canadian made his feelings known as he drifted wide and touched the side of Hamilton’s car at slow speed. It’s an exceedingly rare sight to see two drivers come together before a race, but it happened twice in Barcelona.
Damon Hill scoffs at Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc at Spanish Grand Prix
Speaking on Sky Sports F1 before qualifying, 1996 world champion Damon Hill issued a critical assessment of both Leclerc and Stroll. He called their driving ‘daft’.
Hill feels that Stroll, who has scored 285 points in his 152-race F1 career, put his own car at risk simply because he was ‘cross’. He says there’s no place for that kind of conduct in the sport.
“It’s irrelevant which one is the worst,” he said. “Both did something really daft. They biffed into another competitor just to show they were cross.
“There are other formulae of racing where that sort of thing is allowed, or even encouraged.”
Stroll is near the top of the F1 penalty points leaderboard after amassing seven over the past year. A driver receives a race ban if they incur 12, but the 25-year-old will shed two of those on 9 July.
Ted Kravitz shares theory about Stroll F1 future
Stroll finds himself in a unique position among the drivers who are out of contract. His father Lawrence owns the Aston Martin team, which he means isn’t under the same pressure as some of his rivals.
However, it remains noteworthy that he hasn’t signed a new deal. There hasn’t been any public indication that he’s done so, at least.
Stroll has scored less than half the points of teammate Fernando Alonso (41 vs 17). However, he’s performed relatively well up against the two-time world champion in qualifying, beating him four times.
Ted Kravitz believes that the former Williams driver wants to demonstrate that he’s earned an extension before he puts pen to paper. He’s a ‘modest’ man who’s wary of being seen as his father’s hire.
This counters what some figures in F1 have said about Stroll’s mentality. For instance, Red Bull director Helmut Marko has questioned whether he’s ready to ‘work very hard’ for success.
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