28/02/2017
NEWS STORY
Williams forced to abandon Tuesday's afternoon running following early spin for Lance Stroll.
Shortly after leapfrogging Lewis Hamilton and taking top spot on the Barcelona timesheets, Lance Stroll spun at Turn 9, thereby causing the second red flag of the week.
Though the incident appeared innocuous enough - he was alone on track at the time - the damage incurred means that the Grove outfit will sit-out this afternoon as it awaits repairs.
"Lance was on lap six of his second run when he had a spin," explained Rob Smedley. "The grip was particularly low and so he spun and went through the gravel backwards.
"Even though the accident was entirely innocuous we’ve unfortunately had quite a bit of accident damage, which we’re now in the process of repairing. We’re having to send some composite parts back to the factory, which will be back with us at some point tomorrow. We’re doing the upmost we can now to get back out on track at the earliest opportunity tomorrow. We will be able to recover the programme in the coming days."
"It is still early days and I have only done a handful of laps," said Stroll. "I am just getting to grips with the FW40, and there is still a lot of time ahead of us.
"It was good to finally get behind the wheel to just get a feel for it. Like I said, it is still early days, so I need to do a lot more running before I know exactly where I am and where the car is at. I will have a much better picture once we have more laps under our belts, but it was good to break the ice and I am looking forward to some more running."