Lance Stroll breaks unwanted F1 record

Lance Stroll has broken a Formula 1 record - but he won’t be happy about it.

The Aston Martin driver claimed the dubious landmark during Saturday’s qualifying for the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Stroll will line up disappointingly in 16th for Sunday’s race in Jeddah.

He has broken the record for the most Q1 qualifying exits in F1 history, after being eliminated at that stage for a 75th time.

Stroll has edged the unwanted record from Kevin Magnussen, who was dumped out 74 times from Q1.

Lance Stroll has broken an unwanted Formula 1 record

It is Stroll’s third Q1 elimination of 2025, also exiting early in Japan and Bahrain.

His Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso was only 13th in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

It highlights the current uncompetitiveness of the Aston Martin.

Team boss Andy Cowell has confirmed that Adrian Newey, their high-profile car design genius recruited dramatically from Red Bull, won’t be impacting their car this year.

That’s because Newey’s full focus has been placed on next year, when new F1 regulations offer Aston Martin a chance to burst out of the traps with the best package.

In the meantime, Alonso and Stroll are battling uphill with their current machine.

For Stroll, breaking this unwanted F1 record on Saturday in Saudi Arabia is a further setback against him.

As the son of Aston Martin’s billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll, he frequently comes under intense scrutiny for his place in the sport.

The Canadian driver will be hoping to edge forwards from 16th to save some face from this weekend.