There is no denying that Lance Stroll is one of the best pay drivers in recent years, having accomplished a handful of podiums and even a pole position in his six-year F1 career. However, things have gone haywire for the Aston Martin driver since the start of this season, thanks to his new teammate Fernando Alonso, whose ruthless on-track showing has completely overshadowed the Canadian’s meager performances.
Stroll Jr has a rather attractive teammate history, having raced alongside the likes of four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, the now-Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, and ex-Ferrari hero Felipe Massa. And surprisingly enough, Stroll has managed to deliver satisfactory performances despite being teamed up alongside such massive motorsport giants.
Aston Martin’s points in the last five rounds:
Fernando Alonso – 39
Lance Stroll – 3It’s been a tricky spell for the team… pic.twitter.com/FdgA0mrOaq
— formularacers (@formularacers_) September 4, 2023
However, after reasonable stints over the last few years, the 2023 F1 season has been nothing short of horrendous for the three-time podium winner. Just over a couple of races into the second half of the season, Stroll is helplessly staring at an embarrassing 123-point deficit to the Spaniard. And by the looks of it, the gap is all set to widen even further in the coming weeks.
Amidst such an obvious lag in performance between the pair, here’s a shocking statement from the team boss! Aston Martin team principal, Mike Krack, reckoned that Stroll is performing on an equal level as his teammate, albeit with poor luck and timing.
Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso are equally good F1 drivers
As reported by RacingNews365, Krack opined that Stroll has been subject to reliability issues which constantly hindered the Canadian’s chances of securing a decent points haul this season. “There is not a marked gap in performance, there is a marked gap in points,” he said. “It is important to separate between the two.
“As a team, we are analysing the season from both perspectives on both drivers and as a team, we need to do a much, much better job on that side of the garage. When you look at the [Dutch Grand Prix] qualifying session, in Q1 at Zandvoort for example, there was nothing between them (Stroll was 0.270s ahead),” Krack added.
Drivers with points at every race this season:
Max Verstappen 🇳🇱
Fernando Alonso 🇪🇸
Lewis Hamilton 🇬🇧Who’s been most impressive? pic.twitter.com/Lv4NE7eAvT
— formularacers (@formularacers_) September 6, 2023
“I don’t think that there is any particular characteristic that is different for him than for Fernando. He can be just the same [as Fernando]. We had all the discussions when Sebastian [Vettel] joined the team – and that went pretty well so there is no reason why it should not be the same.”
Overall, it looks like Aston Martin are going all-in to save Stroll and his future with the team. But, despite the immense backing, the ex-Williams driver hasn’t shown promises as of yet. Hence, with just eight races left, can Stroll pull off a strong finish to the rather bitter season?