Lance Stroll participated in his 163e Formula 1 race last Sunday. Only one other Quebec pilot has achieved the feat: Jacques Villeneuve. However, the two men have very different records…
Posted at 1:08 a.m.
Updated at 5:00 a.m.
When he retired, after 163 races, Jacques Villeneuve had 11 victories, 23 podiums, 13 leading positions and a world championship. Stroll’s record is, let’s say, less flamboyant; still looking for his first victory, he reached the podium three times and managed a leading position.
Of course, it is difficult to compare two drivers in two different eras, with two different cars, in teams with different situations.
The fact remains that once again this season, the weekends follow one another and are similar for Stroll. In 20 races, the Quebecer has only placed himself in the points five times. Conversely, his teammate Fernando Alonso has scored at least a point 12 times so far in the campaign. He also collected 38 more points, which is considerable.
Aston Martin is having a more difficult season than last year on the track, but is not too upset about it. After all, she came to terms with one of the greatest engineers in history, Adrian Newey, a few weeks ago — he’ll join the team in 2025. And she’s never hidden her target; it is in 2026 that she intends to fight for the championship.
“I’d like to be higher, don’t get me wrong, but our focus is on having a better car in 2025, and then we’ll put most of our energy into 2026,” said owner Lawrence Stroll. when Newey’s arrival was announced at the beginning of September.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll
Precisely, the businessman could face a dilemma in a year. His son signed a contract extension at the end of June which will take him until at least 2026. Only here: Stroll Jr. has not shown any improvement for several seasons. Even last year, when the car was more competitive, he finished the year in 10e rank among the drivers, while Alonso achieved 8 podiums, which was good for the 4e rang.
If this notable gap and Stroll’s individual results do not seem to concern the team currently, how will the latter approach the situation when the time comes to fight for a constructors’ championship? That’s kind of what everyone is wondering…
Three months, zero points
What we notice, over the Grands Prix and circuits, is that Stroll is never a factor on the track. He’s rarely caught on camera, which kind of means he rarely performs any interesting maneuvers. The driver is there somewhere and finishes in the last 10. He has not scored any points since July 21, in Hungary.
In his defense, Fernando Alonso is not that far ahead. But he still is. Again and again. In qualifying and in the race. Yes, okay, teammates don’t share the same experience, but still…
In June, during the Canadian Grand Prix, Stroll indicated that a good weekend at Aston Martin now came down to “small points” in the rankings. Team boss Mike Krack said Aston Martin’s car in 2024 was “hard to drive”.
PHOTO YURI CORTEZ, ARCHIVES AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Lance Stroll driving his Aston Martin at the Mexican Grand Prix last Sunday
In Azerbaijan, during the first free practice session, Stroll said into his microphone that “it’s not a car at the moment”. In other words, the car didn’t run to his liking. In his earpiece, he was told that “good news: Adrian Newey is in the team”.
With, among other things, the arrival of Newey and the creation of its new wind tunnel, Aston Martin has been improving more off-track than on-track for some time. However, there will come a time when expectations will be carried to the track.
Stroll has yet to prove he has the ability to keep up with his teammate. Recall that the team has in its ranks a young reserve driver, Felipe Drugovich, who won the Formula 2 championship in 2022.
If things stay like this and Stroll doesn’t find a way to do better, his father might have to decide: family or the championship?
