Lance Stroll allowed to start Australian GP, but Aston ‘can’t risk big damage’

The FIA has confirmed that Lance Stroll will be allowed to start the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix despite not meeting the 107% rule after sitting out qualifying.

Aston Martin’s reliability woes continued into Saturday at the Australian Grand Prix, as Lance Stroll was forced to miss FP3 and qualifying due to an issue.

As such, the Canadian did not meet the 107% pace cut-off required to legally qualify for the grand prix.

However, the FIA stewards do have the power to make exceptions, with Aston arguing that Fernando Alonso’s pace in qualifying is proof that the car is fast enough.

The stewards have granted Stroll permission to start the grand prix, which he set to do from the back of the grid.

Aston Martin has to be “flexible” with how many laps it completes in the race

Stroll admits “there’s concerns” still about being able to start the race due to the AMR26’s problems over the weekend.

Fernando Alonso, who was 17th in qualifying and in play for a Q2 spot, also noted that the lack of spare Honda engine parts means Aston cannot risk serious damage to its power unit in the race with the Chinese Grand Prix taking place next week.

“I mean, we will be flexible,” Alonso said.

“Every lap we will monitor the situation. I think, as Adrian said yesterday, we are short on parts.

“So, there is no secret on that. China is next week, so hopefully we can do as many laps as possible, hopefully we can do nearly the whole race.

“But at the first sign there is something potentially wrong, we cannot risk running, running, running and big damage, and the compromise next week.

“So, we will have to be very flexible.”

Alonso’s step up in pace during qualifying saw him beat both Cadillacs, though his position likely would have been lower had Max Verstappen not crashed out of Q1.

While the result itself hasn’t changed anything, Alonso hopes it can start to “ignite” some hope within the Aston team.

“I don’t think it has changed anything, but it made us change a little bit in the garage,” he said.

“The mechanics have been flatout in the garage, changing parts on the car and changing power units day and night the last six weeks.

“Even on the other side of the garage, with Lance being so unlucky in FP3 and qualy with zero laps, when you go on track and you are in the mix with a few cars, it’s a bit better than when you are dead last, as we were yesterday.

“So, maybe it is enough to ignite a little bit of motivation in everyone in the garage.

“And that’s probably part of our job now as drivers, to keep the morale of the team high in difficult moments.”