(Motorsport-Total.com) – The Monaco Grand Prix (full race report) ended prematurely for Lance Stroll on lap 57: The Aston Martin driver drove straight into the Antony Noghes corner before the start-finish straight and hit the track barrier head-on. Now the Canadian has revealed the cause of the accident.
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“We had problems with engine braking throughout the race,” reports Stroll. “These problems have been present all season. In some corners, the car pushes, in others it decelerates more strongly, and it constantly does different things.”
“In this corner and on this lap, it simply pushed me into the wall,” emphasizes the Aston Martin driver, making it clear that his accident was not due to a driving error on his part. “It felt like the throttle was 50 percent open.”
Even the breaking up asphalt, which shortly after led to a race interruption, was not to blame. “That wasn’t the problem from my perspective,” believes the Canadian. “It felt like the engine was pushing me into the wall, as if the throttle pedal was stuck.”
Stroll “pushed despite all difficulties”
Stroll’s complaints align with statements from teammate Fernando Alonso, who has also been complaining for weeks about drivability issues with the car, especially in combination with the gearbox. The two-time world champion recently spoke several times of “random downshifts.”
Apparently, the interaction between the gearbox and the power unit is not right. Aston Martin has been using Honda factory engines since this season, but is simultaneously developing its own gearbox. This very gearbox had already caused difficulties at the races in Miami and Canada.
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Aston Martin team ambassador Pedro de la Rosa, however, does not completely exonerate Stroll. “The fact that Lance crashed only shows that our drivers never give up,” says the Spaniard. “We lost a car, but only because the driver pushed despite all the difficulties.”
Aston Martin and Honda are working on solutions
However, the former Formula 1 driver did not want to completely contradict Stroll’s account either. When asked about the statement that the engine had pushed the Canadian into the wall, de la Rosa referred to the known problems during braking. “We are experiencing inconsistencies in the deceleration phase,” he explains.
“I don’t want to give too many details yet because the analysis is still ongoing. But there are definitely things that make life difficult for the drivers.” If drivers are pushing to the limit and the vehicle’s deceleration doesn’t work as expected, it can quickly end in a crash. “That’s exactly what happened to Lance.”
The problem is known to Aston Martin and is currently being investigated together with engine partner Honda. “It’s a complex issue,” adds de la Rosa. “Engine and gearbox work together as a complete system. It cannot be reduced to a single component.”
Especially under the current regulations with the comparatively small internal combustion engine and the large turbocharger, the tuning is particularly challenging. Nevertheless, various solutions and alternative tunings are to be tested in the upcoming races.
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