Fernando Alonso's teammate opines why the points gap was massive between the two Aston Martin drivers

Lance Stroll reckons the points gap between him and his Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso was down to his bad luck in the 2023 F1 season. The Spaniard dominated the first half of the season and was miles ahead of Stroll. In addition, the Canadian sustained a serious wrist injury just before the Bahrain GP.

In an interview with Motorsportweek, Lance Stroll claimed that 2023 was a year of bad luck where he missed many opportunities. He pointed out that he had to retire from the Saudi Arabian GP because of engine problems and had a poor qualifying at the Monaco GP. He continued to count unfortunate race weekends like the Japanese and Dutch GPs.

Stroll said:

“Yeah, it’s been a season with a lot of bad luck, a lot of missed opportunity. I don’t like using the words bad luck, but I think missed opportunities. But I guess it’s bad luck when I think about the failures and stuff."

"We had races like Saudi running P4, engine problem, Monaco quali, hitting debris. Damage to the car in Q2 and starting from mid-pack in Monaco, you lose your weekend,” he continued.

“I think back to places like Suzuka, having a good race, rear wing failure. In Zandvoort we missed the pitstop when the rain came down, we stayed out on track, it was a wrong decision. We were in a good place to score big points there. But I think that’s part of the season,” he added.

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Fernando Alonso praises Lance Stroll's unwavering determination after his wrist injury

Fernando Alonso was particularly impressed with his new teammate's determination to improve Aston Martin's car despite suffering a major wrist injury right before the 2023 F1 season. The Spaniard explained how Stroll tried to help even when he was experiencing a lot of ups and downs in the season.

"We share many things that he's been through, some difficulties this year as the car was changing behavior and he was just struggling a little bit more than me. We then fixed a few things on the car, and he's back to top form, and it was impressive to see his dedication and motivation in the highs and lows, such as in the beginning of the year with a broken hand," the Spaniard was quoted as saying by RacingNews365.

Lance Stroll ended the season in 10th place in the drivers' championship with only 74 points. His teammate, Fernando Alonso, on the other hand, bagged fourth place with 206 points.