Lance Stroll has had an extremely difficult 2023 season and his struggles have worsened with Aston Martin also having lost performance. Out of his last six races, he only scored points at the United States Grand Prix with a seventh-place finish. Since the Canadian has struggled massively, Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack also admitted that the 25-year-old’s poor performances took a hit on the internal team dynamics.
Lance is often the victim of additional pressure because his father, Lawrence Stroll, owns the Aston Martin F1 team. As a result, the former Williams driver often receives immense flak in the media when he does not perform well. Krack too has admitted the same and explained how even a small mistake from Lance puts huge pressure on the team.
While speaking to Sky (as quoted by motorsport-total.com), Krack said, “Lance got a beating from you [the press] for three or four months. So, it was very good that he got a good result [in Austin] and that the situation calmed down for the time being. The pressure is increasing internally. It’s also difficult for the team because then every little mistake is taken into account“.
As a result, the Luxembourgish team principal is glad that with Lance’s seventh place in Austin, the pressure on the young Canadian and his side has reduced. However, it is not just the press that has been speculating about the future of the 25-year-old. 2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg recently claimed that had Lance not been racing with Aston Martin, he would not be in the sport next year.
Nico Rosberg believes Lance Stroll is lucky to still be in F1
While speaking to Sky Sports F1 (as quoted by si.com), Nico Rosberg explained how Lance Stroll is lucky to still be in F1 after his struggles this season. The German believes that considering how poor the 25-year-old has been this season, no other team would take him.
About two months earlier, Rosberg also explained on the Sky Sports F1 podcast about how Aston Martin cannot afford to have a driver like Stroll for the long term if the Canadian does not close the gap to teammate Fernando Alonso. The 38-year-old was adamant that if Aston Martin are keen to fight for a better position in the Constructors’ Championship, then they need two fast drivers.
Alonso is currently fifth in the championship and has scored 183 of the team’s 236 points. In stark contrast, Stroll is currently eleventh in the championship and has just scored 53 points.
