Stroll addresses Aston Martin's bizarre 'Bottas' wheel issue

Lance Stroll has detailed the issue that kept him confined to the garage for much of the second practice session for the Mexico City Grand Prix.

The Aston Martin driver completed almost half of the running teammate Fernando Alonso managed after his team was left trying to remove the left front wheel from the AMR23 at the of his first long run.

Stroll's issue was reminiscent of Valtteri Bottas and Mercedes' nightmare pit stop at the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix, where the wheel nut had machined onto the axle, leaving the Silver Arrow out of the race and requiring specialist tools to remove the wheel back at the factory the week following.

Aston Martin did resolve the issue at the track, however, allowing Stroll to get back onto the circuit.

"It was good to get back out on track in Mexico City; it's a fun circuit to drive," said Stroll, who finished 18th fastest on his Soft-tyre run.

"It's a pretty slippery surface with quite low grip, but I think we made a good start dialling the car in.

"We got some decent laps in during FP1 and completed our run programme, including high and low fuel running.

"Unfortunately, FP2 was interrupted by an issue we had removing the wheel from the front left of the car, so we lost a bit of time resolving that.

"As always, we’ll work through the data to try and get the car in the best place possible ahead of FP3 and qualifying."

Alonso happier with Aston Martin upgrade

Alonso focused largely on long runs during his practice programme as he continued to try and get to grips with a new upgrade package on his Aston Martin.

The two-time F1 champion was forced to change back to the Qatar-spec car for the United States Grand Prix after a dismal qualifying and Sprint at the Circuit of the Americas but suggested there was optimism after Mexican practice running.

"It was good," said Alonso, recounting his day.

"We focused a lot on race pace and high fuel running so it is difficult to read the times.

"But the car felt good and we are understanding the package more and more."