Stroll apologises to FIA who issued him a written warning

A spokesman for the FIA reported that the 24-year-old Aston Martin driver, son of team owner, Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, had apologised to the FIA's compliance officer.

"The compliance officer has noted this apology and issued a written warning, reminding Lance of his responsibilities as a competitor bound by the FIA code of ethics and other FIA ethical and conduct guidelines set forth by the sporting regulations.

"The FIA maintains a zero-tolerance stance against misconduct and condemns any actions that may lead to physical harassment," he added.

Stroll failed to progress beyond the first phase of qualifying in Qatar and was seen throwing his steering wheel out of the car in the garage and shoving trainer Henry Howe.

Howe was trying to direct Stroll to the FIA garage for a mandatory weigh-in, with drivers obliged to go via the pitlane rather than the paddock.

After the race, Stroll also criticised penalties he received for track limits violations in Sunday's race and was outspoken about the extreme weather conditions. At the time of writing, there was no sign of an apology on the Canadian's social media page, nor on the Aston Martin portals.

Much of Stroll's frustration is believed to stem from the fact that relative to his veteran teammate Fernando Alonso, the younger driver is being exposed every weekend and perhaps overdriving to catch up.

But the reality for a mega-team with huge ambitions is that Alonso has raked in 183 of the team's points in his first season with them and lies fourth in the 2023 F1 drivers standings, after 17 Rounds. In sharp contrast, the owner's son is gown in tenth 1ith a meagre 47 points haul.

As a result of the lopsided scoring, with two good scoring drivers Aston Martin could be second in the F1 standings at this stage of the season, but with Stroll not delivering they may end up fifth as McLaren's renaissance reels them in.