THE JUDGE13 NOTEPAD ✍🏻 AN F1 PRESS PARODY – Lance Stroll’s record-breaking battle: The fastest lap that never was – This weekend Lance Stroll, Aston Martin’s much maligned Canadian driver, hit a new low. Well, not a crash or a DNF, but something worse in the world of Formula 1. He set a record – a tragic, pathetic record that no driver would want to hold.

Lance Stroll, son of billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll, teammate of Fernando bloody Alonso, the guy who somehow managed to stay on the F1 grid long enough to set *this* record, is now officially the driver with the most starts in F1 without ever setting a fastest lap. That’s right – 162 starts and not a single fastest lap. The previous record, held by Johnny Herbert since the early 2000s, was 161 races without a fastest lap. And now Lance has beaten that.

You can’t make this stuff up.

 

 

Same old story for Stroll

Sunday was business as usual for Stroll at the US Grand Prix. He started his 162nd race, drove around, battled with a few other drivers at the back of the field and finally, after what seemed like hours of midfield overtaking and blue flag waving, crossed the line in 15th place.

Fifteenth! Far from the points, far from the action and certainly far from a fastest lap.

It’s not that he drove badly. He didn’t get involved in any embarrassing crashes, he didn’t cause a safety car, he didn’t tangle with Max Verstappen – none of that drama. He just drove, without fanfare or incident, to another forgettable finish.

Fifteenth. The number is almost comically appropriate for someone in his position: not close enough to the front to be relevant, not far enough back to be meme-worthy.

While Fernando Alonso fought his way through the field, only to drop back to 13th in a race where the team struggled for pace, Stroll’s race was an echo of everything we’ve seen from him this season. A lively start? Check. A few tussles with the midfield? Check. Fading into the background? Check.

It was the perfect setup for Stroll’s latest claim to fame – the most race starts in F1 history without ever setting a fastest lap. Bravo, Lance, bravo.

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The sad record nobody wants

Let’s talk about the record itself, because it’s almost poetic. In F1, setting the fastest lap is like a badge of authority – something drivers, even those who never make it to the podium, can cling to. It’s proof that they can be the fastest driver on the track, at least for one lap. Just ask Daniel Ricciardo, his last race in Formula 1 ever was marked by the team allowing the Australian driver to set the fastest lap of the race during the Singapore Grand Prix prior to the US GP.

And yet, in 162 attempts, Lance Stroll has never done it. You’d have thought that daddy Stroll might’ve instigated his team to at least give the boy a chance surely?

To be clear, it’s not as if setting the fastest lap is easy. You need the perfect combination of circumstances: a fast car, fresh tyres, clean air and sometimes a bit of luck. But for someone like Stroll, who’s been around for 162 races, this kind of drought is both astonishing and a little sad.

The previous record holder, Johnny Herbert, raced in F1 from 1989 to 2000. He had a solid career – three Grand Prix wins, a veteran of the sport. Yet somehow, like Stroll, he never managed to set a fastest lap in any of his 161 races. Herbert retired in 2000 with a largely respectable, if unspectacular, career.

But for Stroll, this record feels different. It doesn’t just hang over him, it defines his career. Here is a driver who, despite the billions behind him, the high-profile team and the flashy Aston Martin marque, hasn’t been able to capture even the tiniest slice of glory that comes with setting the fastest lap.

Sergio Perez F1 exit announcement 

 

 

 

The long shadow of Fernando Alonso

The cruel irony is that Lance Stroll shares a garage with one of the sport’s legends – Fernando Alonso, a two-time world champion, a driver who has seen and done it all in Formula One. Alonso’s presence is like a mirror, reflecting everything that Stroll is not.

While Alonso continues to deliver the goods, taking the green Aston Martin into Q3 on several occasions this year, Stroll has struggled to even crack the top 10.

There’s an unspoken reality in F1 that everyone knows, but few want to talk about. Stroll’s seat, like a rare commodity, is there because of the millions his father pumps into the team. Some call it nepotism. Others call it business. But after this weekend’s race, you have to wonder: How long can a driver stay in F1 if his defining record is one of failure?

This isn’t an isolated incident. Stroll has had his moments – his pole position for the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix is a glowing reminder that he *can* perform. He has a couple of podiums to his name. But those moments were rare, and they seem even rarer now, especially in the context of this record.

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McLaren team order to Piastri not broadcast

 

 

Aston Martin: The car isn’t helping

To be fair to Stroll, Aston Martin have not given him or Alonso much to work with recently. After a promising start to the season, with Alonso challenging for podiums, the green team have fallen off the pace. Their car simply can’t keep up with the front runners, and even scoring points is a tall order these days.

In this weekend’s race, Alonso retired early and eventually finished a miserable 13th. Stroll, in his usual mid-pack misery, couldn’t make any significant gains either. The car wasn’t fast, the strategy wasn’t paying off, and at this point Aston Martin looks more like a team in freefall than a podium contender.

But here’s the kicker: even with a bad car, Alonso manages to scrape together results that keep him in the conversation. Stroll? He’s just… there. Part of the scenery. Another car to lap for the leaders.

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What’s next for Stroll?

So what’s next for Lance Stroll? The sad reality is that this record is likely to grow. There’s no silver bullet for Aston Martin this season and unless something drastic happens, Stroll won’t be setting the fastest lap in Mexico next weekend. Or Brazil. Or Abu Dhabi.

Formula One is a cut-throat business and no amount of family investment can change the fact that results matter. At the moment, Stroll isn’t delivering. And while his father’s billions may keep him in the seat, the F1 world isn’t kind to those who set records like this.

But who knows? Perhaps Stroll will surprise us all and break his fastest lap record. Maybe he’ll have one of those wild races where the stars align and he’s suddenly the hero. Stranger things have happened in Formula 1. But don’t hold your breath.

For now, Lance Stroll has made history. But it’s the kind of history you’d rather forget.

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