If Lawrence Stroll didn’t own Aston Martin F1, Lance Stroll wouldn’t be in F1. Not because he is a bad driver, but because he doesn’t want to be an F1 driver or doesn’t want to anymore.
That’s the opinion of former Haas team boss Gunther Steiner after Stroll’s disastrous weekend at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Stroll endured a nightmare outing in Brazil, where an already difficult weekend turned into ‘what can go wrong, went wrong’ on race day.
The Canadian had a big crash during Sunday morning’s qualifying session – one of five drivers to make a big kiss at the barriers at the wet Interlagos circuit – but lined up on the grid in 10th after that his mechanics worked hard to repair his AMR24.
However, he was never able to see the start as he went off the track on the formation lap and, while stopped on a section of asphalt, quickly drove his AMR24 into a gravel trap soggy as he tried to get back on the track. His car then ran aground without being able to leave.
Under the jeers of the crowd, Stroll had to give up.
"The pressure got to him," analysis Steiner.
“He knew he had done something stupid on the formation lap and he no longer took control of what he was doing.”
“I think he panicked. In situations where the world is watching you, you always get criticized, you do something stupid on the training lap.”
“What to do next? Something stupider. It’s like a brain fart.”
Steiner feels Stroll doesn’t want to be in Formula 1.
When we tell him that “for a guy who hates his job, he’s pretty good at it”Steiner responds that he didn’t think Stroll would be in Formula 1 if his father didn’t own Aston Martin.
“He never seems to be happy, no matter what. Would he be world champion if he was happy? I don’t know about it, because some people can be good even if they are unhappy.”
“We think he’s unhappy and maybe that’s just his expression.”
“I think a lot of people criticize him: ‘He’s a very bad driver. He’s there because dad has the team’. But let’s put it this way: if dad didn’t have a team, I don’t think not that Lance would be a Formula 1 driver or would still be a Formula 1 driver, because he doesn’t give the impression of wanting to be one.”
