Two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso believes that it is “only a matter of time” before his team-mate Lance Stroll shows his true self, with the Spaniard believing that the Canadian has had some extenuating circumstances so far this season, but it is only a waiting game now for Lance according to Alonso..
Since the start of the year, Fernando Alonso has largely dominated his team-mate Lance Stroll at Aston Martin, already claiming six podiums in eight Grands Prix, while Stroll has failed to finish higher than fourth.
And yet despite this, Alonso’s comments would likely come as a shock to many in F1. Could we finally start to see further development of the young Canadian?
Alonso has no doubts about Stroll’s potential
For Alonso, the young Canadian obviously had extenuating circumstances at the start of the season when he broke both wrists in a bike accident just before the Bahrain Grand Prix, the first round of the 2023 championship. Despite his injuries, Stroll still insisted on getting into his car to take part in the first race of the year, where he eventually finished sixth between the two Mercedes drivers.
But for some races now, many observers have been concerned about the gap in performance between Stroll – eighth in the championship – and his team-mate Fernando Alonso, currently third and nine points behind Sergio Perez.
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Alonso launches a defence for Stroll…
However, the Spanish driver was once again keen to come to his team-mate’s defence, saying that he now needs more consistency over his race weekends and remains convinced that the talent is there to perform: “Lance [Stroll] has already shown his speed in the car.”
“His commitment, we also saw that at the beginning of the year, because racing with a broken hand and things like that, you only see that when you really have the passion for something you’re doing,” Alonso said of his teammate, quoted by Speedcafé.
“I think the most important thing for him now is to be consistent, weekend after weekend. We’ve seen Lance sparkle on a number of occasions in the past, in qualifying on a wet track, in races, at the start, in first-lap performances, that sort of thing which is exceptional.”
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🚀 Lightning-fast reactions for Lewis and Fernando!
But, it was @LewisHamilton who won the race to Turn 1 🤯#CanadianGP #F1Insights @awscloud pic.twitter.com/CrjhpGmgrz
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2023
“Then we could see other weekends where the result wasn’t coming, where you get into a bad loop in qualifying, something like that, and then the weekend is then compromised.”
“So that consistency is going to be the next step in his career, constantly fighting for the top five, then at the end of the year you see how many points you gain when you do well every weekend.”
“As I’ve said before, with the commitment and motivation, the commitment that he has and the team that Aston Martin is building, I think it’s only a matter of time.”
After the Canadian Grand Prix, Lance Stroll sits eighth in the drivers’ world championship with 37 points scored since the start of the 2023 season.
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