Stroll on Monaco disaster: 'You might as well laugh!'

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Lance Stroll admitted that he might as well laugh off his disastrous Monaco Grand Prix marked by brake problems on his Aston Martin and numerous brushes with the barriers.

Stroll's weekend in the Principality was in sharp contrast to teammate Fernando Alonso's impressive display that saw the Spaniard finish runner-up to Max Verstappen in Sunday's race.

Stroll on the other hand struggled from the outset. An exit in qualifying at the Q2 stage guaranteed the Canadian a position entrenched in F1's midfield on race day.

A chaotic opening lap did little to improve the Aston charger's prospects, or the state of his car which was left with multiple cuts and wounds.

He nevertheless extended his stint on the hard tyre until lap 50, but as his brake issues worsened after his switch to the intermediates, so did Stroll's difficulties.

Three laps later, he slid down the escape road at Mirabeau, but extricated himself only to clout at the Loews hairpin. His front wing dislodged, Stroll wisely chose to park his stricken AMR23 and call it a day.

Read also: F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2023 Monaco GP

"Laugh or cry, you know? You might as well laugh," he said as he recounted his adventurous afternoon.

"The first lap was pretty eventful – a lot of crashing, a lot of carbon-fibre flying everywhere!

"Those clashes left the car with a fair amount of damage but I was still able to have a go at some of the cars in front. And I pulled off a couple of passes, which was fun.

"But I was struggling a little to get the car slowed down even before the rain; then when it started raining the brake issues meant I just couldn’t stop the car.

"I think I hit the wall about five times out there, but it just wasn’t my day."

Stroll suffered in Monaco his second DNF of the season after Jeddah, and the lackluster performance in the Principality follows his low-key display in Miami.

Stroll's deficit to Alonso in the Drivers' standings now sits at 66 points.

The Canadian urgently needs to turn around his fortunes or Aston Martin's runner-up spot behind Red Bull in the Constructors' standings will surely come under threat from Mercedes and Ferrari, perhaps as soon as next weekend.

"I’ll be aiming for a points finish at Barcelona next weekend," Stroll concluded. "I’m already looking forward to Spain."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.