Lance Stroll was initially seen as ‘the son of’ and a ‘paydriver’ at the start of his F1 career, but by now we can definitely call the Canadian from Aston Martin an experienced driver.
Question Marks Over Performance
Does this make him a good driver? On his best days, there’s a case to be made. In his first year of Formula 1 – in 2017 with Williams – the rookie from Montréal scored a podium in his eighth Grand Prix. This achievement immediately etched his name in the history books: Stroll is the second youngest driver ever to achieve this feat, following Max Verstappen. Stroll raced for Williams again the following season. However, the team was increasingly plagued by financial problems, leaving little glory for Stroll. Nevertheless, he clearly outperformed his teammate, Sergey Sirotkin, that season.
In 2019, Lance Stroll moved to Racing Point, a team recently acquired by a consortium led by his father, Lawrence, from Vijay Mallya. Stroll junior’s first season with the Pink Panthers from Silverstone was not particularly successful alongside Sergio Pérez. However, in 2020, he repeatedly proved his worth in Formula 1. Stroll finished on the podium in both the Italian Grand Prix and the Sakhir Grand Prix. During the wet qualifying in Turkey, Stroll even secured pole position. He led for a significant portion of the race the following day, but ultimately had to settle for ninth place at Istanbul Park.
Spoiled and Uninspired?
Overall, these are decent performances, but there’s also the other side of the coin, with Lance Stroll appearing spoiled and uninspired on some days. On these occasions, Stroll becomes a moving chicane, attracting the scorn of the motorsport world. His results in his final season racing alongside Sebastian Vettel are telling. Stroll finished 2022 with 18 points in fifteenth place, while his outgoing teammate, Sebastian Vettel, finished eleventh with 37 points. In the upcoming season, Stroll will once again face off against a former world champion, as Fernando Alonso will be his teammate.
