Fernando Alonso stitched up by Lance Stroll as Aston Martin team orders row breaks out
Lance Stroll disobeyed a team order during the closing stages of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Lance Stroll failed to comply with a team order to let Fernando Alonso through during the latter stages of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Stroll was the only driver to score points for Aston Martin, coming home ahead of his Spanish team-mate in 10th place.
Alonso was ahead of Stroll as the race entered its closing stages but was ordered to let the Canadian through so he could try and pass Yuki Tsunoda. He was promised by his race engineer that Stroll would give the place back if he failed to pull off a move.
"We will change positions again if he does not manage to get past," Alonso was told. "We will change again."
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Stroll was unable to close the gap to Tsunoda, prompting Aston Martin to request another driver swap before the chequered flag. However, the 25-year-old refused to comply with the order and ended up crossing the line ahead of Alonso.
The Spaniard, who started the race from seventh on the grid but finished outside the points, did not hide his fury over team radio as he told his engineer: "I don't want to know, my friend. We've lost the race to everyone."
It comes just weeks after Stroll signed a new long-term contract with Aston Martin, keeping him on their books for the foreseeable future. The announcement did not come as much of a surprise, given that Stroll's billionaire father Lawrence owns the Silverstone-based team.
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However, team principal Mike Krack admitted that other options were considered before Aston Martin chose to retain their current line-up. He explained that Stroll's fruitful relationship with Alonso was a major factor behind their eventual decision to offer him a new contract.
"Of course, you always look at what is there and what is available," said Krack. "I think plan B and plan C, obviously, everybody’s having, but if you can manage to make your plan A happen then you should do that.
"I think for many weeks I said we want continuity, stability and continuity. I think it’s very important for a team, especially heading into a new regulation set, and we’re quite happy that we have quite a mature line-up on the track."
