Why Lance Stroll was penalised three times in nine laps during nightmare F1 British GP

Lance Stroll’s race at the British Grand Prix went largely under-the-radar, aside from the Aston Martin Formula 1 driver picking up three penalties in the space of nine laps. 

Stroll was pinged an additional three times for tracks limits infringements, having already hit the maximum number of three warnings before penalties are triggered. As a result, the Canadian racked up a total of 15 seconds being added to his race time. 

It ultimately made no difference to Stroll’s result, after he finished last of the 19 classified finishers, one place behind Aston Martin team-mate Fernando Alonso. 

Stroll outqualified Alonso for only the second time this season on his way to 21st, but he started Sunday’s grand prix from 22nd on the grid after taking on new engine components from Honda that saw him exceed his permitted allocation for the season, and be slapped with a 10-place penalty. 

Stroll’s fourth infringement of the race - and the first to receive a five-second time penalty - came on lap 33 at Turn 18. His next breach was at Copse on lap 35, before a third and final infringement at Turn 15 on lap 42. 

On each occasion, the stewards noted in their verdict how Stroll left the track “without a justifiable reason”. 

Onboard footage from Stroll’s car showed he was struggling with extreme understeer in his AMR26 throughout the weekend at Silverstone. 

“We have the information we need and understand where we need to improve, so these weekends are just a case of being patient and waiting for the upgrades to come”, Stroll said afterwards. 

"We had a lot of understeer during the race and a very unpredictable car, so it's hard with track limits. I'm always trying to give it everything I can, and hopefully things get better soon.”

Both Alonso and Stroll finished a lap down on race-winner Charles Leclerc. 

The pair are set to endure another testing weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time before Aston Martin introduces a highly-anticipated upgrade package in Hungary at the end of the month. 

Team principal Adrian Newey recently confirmed that Aston Martin’s first big performance upgrade of the season will be introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break in August. 

"The front suspension is unchanged. The rear suspension is slightly revised. We've developed a new nose and substantially revised aerodynamic surfaces,” Newey told Aston Martin’s official website. 

"So, while the core structure is similar, it's a big aerodynamic package coupled with significant weight reduction. The target is to get very close to the weight limit."