Despite Being Aston Martin’s Biggest Liability, Fernando Alonso Makes Excuses for Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll has been going through arguably his most dismal season in F1 yet. The Canadian’s performances this season have been way below the standards Aston Martin and the F1 community expected. Naturally, the 24-year-old has been catching a lot of flak from paddock insiders and fans alike. Be that as it may, his teammate, 2x champion, Fernando Alonso has now seemingly leaped to his defense with a few excuses to cover for Stroll’s lapse, per F1Maximaal.nl.

Stroll’s results in 2023 have been massively underwhelming. Strapped into the AMR23 which is a solid car, the Montreal-born driver has failed to even proceed to Q2 let alone reach Q3 on multiple occasions. His race pace hasn’t been great either. To add insult to injury, he’s been very error-prone, too. Consequently, the team has been bleeding points while Alonso does his best to pull the squad along.

Lance Stroll v Fernando Alonso 2023 (not finished)

Qualifying: Stroll 2-10 Alonso
Race head to head:
Stroll 2-10 Alonso
Points: Stroll 44-137 Alonso
Top 10 finishes: Stroll: 9 Alonso: 12
Top 5 finishes: Stroll: 2 Alonso: 9

In Australia Lance finished P4 although he got…

— Aston Martin Formula 1 News (@AMF1News) July 15, 2023

Fernando Alonso’s results when compared to Stroll, speaks for itself. The 2x champion is a benchmark within the team and Stroll has miserably failed to hit it. As things stand, Alonso sits 4th with 183 points while Stroll struggles in 10th on 47 points with P11 and P12 just a couple of points behind him.

With Lance Stroll on the verge of quitting, Fernando Alonso conjures up excuses

Lance Stroll isn’t just hurting his own reputation as a driver this year. The entire Aston Martin team may face the brunt of the Canadian driver’s ineptness in a car. Things have ramped up to an extent where Lawrence Stroll is even tipped to sell the team to the Saudi state fund for a whopping $800,000,000.

Perhaps as damage limitation, his teammate, Alonso has now come on record to defend Stroll. According to the Spaniard, the hate that Stroll has been accumulating is unwarranted given just how unlucky Stroll has been this season.

#F1 #USGP Brake issue for Lance Stroll. Also, there are a few mechanics checking the left front brakes on Fernando Alonso’s car. Not a great start to a sprint weekend, which only has one practice session. #MsportXtra pic.twitter.com/OM6YNMuABs

— #MsportXtra © (@MsportXtra) October 20, 2023

Alonso claimed (as quoted by Motorsport.com), “I think he has been extremely unlucky in a number of situations. The 2x champion ensured, however, that his young teammate gets all the help he needs. “I also do my best to do my part, for example if I find something in the car that makes me feel more comfortable. Of course, I also listen in on all team discussions, because we sit in the same room. When he says that he is experiencing difficulties with something, I try to think about what has helped me in the past in terms of settings,” revealed Alonso.

Despite putting a brave front on, Alonso is himself disappointed with Aston Martin progress

Alonso has been quite vocal on the team radio criticizing his team in the past. But that hadn’t been the case with Aston Martin, until the 2023 Singapore GP. Alonso basically described the AMR23 being a very difficult and unpleasant experience to drive.

And Alonso’s not wrong. The team started 2023 on a very strong note. However, ever since the ‘flexi-wing‘ technical directive introduced by the FIA, the Silverstone-based team has been outpaced and out-developed by their rivals. Consequently, they have slipped back down the pack.

That elusive 33rd race win seems like a distant dream once again. That being said, the 2023 United States GP shall witness a substantial upgrade package for Aston Martin. Naturally, Alonso would be expecting gains that can be translated to 2024 as well.