Lance Stroll is currently enjoying his ninth season in Formula One since debuting for Williams back in 2017. Yet the Canadian’s pedigree as a top flight driver has been persistently questioned with he results revealing why.
On debut in the Williams Lance was placed alongside the experienced Felipe Massa and whilst the Brazilian was winding down in the final year of his F1 career, he easily beat the young pretender across the season, 17-2 in qualifying and 9-4 in Grand Prix where both drivers finished.
With the large sponsorship Lance brought from his billionaire father, Williams gave him a second year in 2018 alongside another source of income, rookie Sergey Sirotkin. Stroll finished eighteenth in the drivers’ title race scoring six of the team’ seven points, yet in qualifying Sirotkin worryingly beat the Canadian in twelve of the twenty one race weekends.
Stroll v team mates comparison
The following year Lance moved to the Silverstone team named Racing Point at the time, but his partnership with Sergio Perez was to do him more harm. The Mexican out-qualified his team mate 18-3 and he scored 52 of the team’s finally tally of 73 points in the constructors’ championship.
Whilst the team’s performance improved in 2020, again Lance was to come up way short of Perez across the season. Strol came a life best of eleventh in the drivers’ title race, but was again heavily outscored by his team mate 75-210 points come the final chequered flag of the season.
In his two year’s partnering Sebastian Vettel, Lance was again outgunned by his quadruple world champion team mate, yet it was Vettel who decided to call time on his F1 career, allowing Fernando Alonso to join the fray at the Silverstone based team. Come 2023 and Aston Martin had built a car over the winter which was second only to that of the mighty RB19. Fernando Alonso claimed seven podiums in the first nine race weekends and despite the team dropping off in performance his season finales score of 204 eclipsed the efforts of his Canadian team mate with just 75 to his name.
Last year Aston Martin were not at the races, though were again the best of the rest finishing behind the top four. Again Alonso outperformed his Canadian racing partner which means for the seventh year in eight, Lance has failed in his primary mission – which is to beat his team mate.
Lance’s air of disinterest in F1
Stroll has adopted a position with the F1 media of bare tolerance. His interviews are often a mere matter of seconds and when incited to the FIA drivers’ press conference on Thursday’s his answers to questions are mostly monosyllabic. He regularly presents as though he would prefer to be doing anything else, rather than being an F1 driver, with rumours he fancies a switch to tennis as his chosen sport remaining in the background.
Of course Lance is where he is because of his father’s ownership of the Aston Martin team which begs the question how a billionaire who has made countless of good business decisions has a blind spot when it comes to his own son. With a decent driver alongside Perez, Vettel and Alonso, Aston Martin would surely have been a place further ahead in the constructors’ title race in 2023 and 2022.
It is completely mystifying why Lance remains an F1 driver at all given his attitude which added to his lack of performance would see any other driver given his marching orders. Now with the bizarre goings on at the Spanish Grand Prix, even Lawrence must question whether his son has what it takes to move the Silverstone based team forward.
There has been no hint this season that Lance has been struggling with the injury he suffered pre-season in 2023. He broke both his wrists in a cycling accident just days before pre-season testing, yet was back in the car for the opening race in Bahrain.
Rumours Stroll smashes up garage
Yet suddenly after another poor qualifying session in Barcelona, it emerged Lance was withdrawing from the Grand Prix on Sunday. A recurrence of his previous injury cited as the reason. Aston Martin now admit Lance informed them over the last six weeks he has been in some pain, but the timing of his withdrawal meant no replacement driver was allowed under the regulations and the team were forced to field just Alonso in this year’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Aston Martin deny paddock rumours that Lance suffered a fit of rage following qualifying, destroying equipment and his hand in the process, in a post session fit of rage in the garage. Stroll was indeed 5 minutes late for the mandatory weight in on Saturday afternoon and questions were raised as to whether he would be allowed by the FIA to partake in the race.
Even so, Lance had surgery on Saturday night in Barcelona, performed by the surgeon who was first called upon to fix his hands after the cycling accident. Now the question is whether he will return for his home race in Canada, just over a week from now, or even if his F1 days are finally over.
Lance Stroll appears to gain little joy from his F1 weekends and could surely announce his retirement as part of this latest debacle. And the question is why is a billionaire insisting his son go racing most weekends, when clearly Lance demonstrates he has little heart to do so.
Bottas in the frame for F1 return
Aston Martin languish ninth in the F1 constructors table and with Fernando scoring just his first points of the year in Spain, the car is clearly not good. Adrian Newey may be behind the scenes offering his advice on how to improve the AMR25 but with his history of lack lustre efforts, lance Stroll is not the driver to get the team out of a pickle.
Whilst Felipe Drugovitch is the obvious contender to replace Lance Stroll, given he has been Aston Martin’s reserve driver since wining the F2 championship back in 2022. Yet as a Mercedes customer the team have the option of calling on Valtteri Bottas – Mercedes’ reserve driver – to join they efforts for the rest of the year.
Bottas has ten Grand Prix victories to his name, together with 67 other podiums. With Cadillac eyeing the Finn to fulfil their driver slot “with experience” label, this wold be a result for both Aston and the incoming eleventh team for 2026.
For now Aston Martin are making no attempt to hasten Lance Stroll’s return, with head of trackside operations Mike Krack stating re: a Montreal return for the Canadian: ”We wait to see what the next days are bringing and then we take a decision.”
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With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
