Lance Stroll’s problems continued again on Saturday at the Suzuka Circuit as he set the 17th fastest time in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.

His first qualifying streak was interrupted by a red flag, which resulted in his 17th place finish. He clocked a time of 1:31.18 in the first quarter.

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“It was a good performance in a tough qualifying. “We just didn’t have the pace in the car that we ultimately needed,” Stroll said after the race and was quoted on Aston Martin’s website.

He also admitted to having problems with his car.

“The car didn’t behave as well as we would have liked here and I lost a few tenths at the end of the last corner,” added the Quebecer.

At last week’s Singapore Grand Prix, the 24-year-old suffered an accident during qualifying that forced him to miss the race.

His teammate Fernando Alonso achieved the tenth best time in qualifying.

Verstappen in pole position

After experiencing a more difficult weekend with a fifth place finish at the last Grand Prix, the Red Bull team driver recovered well on Saturday and will start Sunday’s race from the top position.

The Dutchman took the lead in qualifying for the ninth time this season.

In addition, Verstappen has a chance to win the constructors’ championship this weekend.

Red Bull currently has 597 points in the constructors’ championship. To achieve this honor, the team must beat Mercedes (289 points) by at least one point at the finish and must not be more than 33 points ahead of Ferrari. Ferrari has gained 265 points since the beginning of the year.