News summary
- Stroll stopped after seven laps of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix because of a water-pressure issue.
- Footage filmed by a spectator shows him arguing with a marshal about remaining trackside and asking for the marshal’s radio.
- Fernando Alonso also retired, completing a double retirement for Aston Martin.
Lance Stroll was involved in a tense exchange with a marshal after retiring from Saturday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Aston Martin driver had stopped beside the Baku street circuit with a water-pressure issue and wanted to return to the paddock while the race was still in progress.
In footage filmed by a spectator, Stroll stands behind a safety fence as a marshal approaches him. “I’m not waiting here until the end of the race. I’m out of here,” he says. Stroll then asks to use the marshal’s communications device: “Give me the radio.” The marshal is subsequently seen escorting him away from the fence and past the parked Aston Martin.
The footage captures their exchange, but does not establish what arrangements had been made to take Stroll back to the paddock. Access around a street circuit can be restricted while cars are racing.
Aston Martin had instructed Stroll to stop after he completed seven laps because of a water-pressure issue. “We had a water pressure issue, so I was told to stop the car,” he said afterwards. He described Baku as another difficult weekend for the team and said its focus was on addressing its problems over the coming races and into 2027.
Stroll also told reporters that the car had lacked power and downforce before he stopped. Both Aston Martins had started from the back after taking new power-unit components, following a qualifying session in which Alonso was 19th and Stroll 21st.
Alonso later retired after reporting an unusual loss of straight-line speed. Aston Martin initially suspected a power-unit issue, although Honda said its first review found no fault in the engine data. The team therefore left Baku with neither car at the finish and will investigate the two stoppages before the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang on 2–4 October.
Why did Lance Stroll retire from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix?
Aston Martin told Stroll to stop after seven laps because of a water-pressure issue.
