Pressure grows on Stroll after Qatar garage outburst

Qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix sparked a new low for Lance Stroll, who found himself 17th on the grid for the Lusail race after another Q1 elimination.

It marked the fourth consecutive race that the Canadian driver has failed to advance past the first stage of qualifying, with the performance gap to team-mate Fernando Alonso in the first segment 1.1s.

Stroll's form has spiralled in recent races, and has not scored points since the summer break, struggling to match Alonso in the AMR23 with the team now at risk of losing fourth in the Constructors' to a resurgent McLaren.

Since the Canadian GP in June, Stroll has scored just 12 points, five of which came in the Austria Sprint, but the build-up of frustration appeared to come to a boil when he stepped out of the car in the garage.

Stroll's outburst

While walking towards the back of the garage, Stroll at first brushed past his trainer who was indicating that he had to be weighed by the FIA - a mandatory requirement after every qualifying and race session.

As the two made their way further into the garage, Stroll appeared to aggressively push his trainer with considerable force - with the garage wall largely blocking the incident, but Stroll's 'push' was clearly visible.

In his post-qualifying interview with F1.com, Stroll also said as little as possible, largely confining his answers, including a swear word, to the minimum possible.

Q: What’s not clicking for you behind the wheel?

A: “I don’t know.”

Q: How does this change your mindset for the weekend?

A: “Keep driving.”

Aston Martin did not offer a formal statement on what happened, with team-mate Alonso set to start fourth for the Grand Prix.