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Fernando Alonso raced 11-year-old future teammate Lance Stroll during Ferrari karting championships

Somin Bhattacharjee
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Fernando Alonso raced 11-year-old future teammate Lance Stroll during Ferrari karting championships

Fernando Alonso beat Lance Stroll during a kart race back when his future Aston Martin teammate was just 11 years old. 

Lance Stroll has come under a lot of criticism since making his F1 debut for failing to be consistent. Ever since his father Lawrence Stroll took over Aston Martin (then known as Racing Point) in 2019, a lot of people feel that he’s in F1 only because of his father’s money.

However, Stroll had a pretty great junior career to show for himself. It wasn’t as glittering as that of Charles Leclerc of George Russell, but the Canadian had his fair share of success and was very fast even as a kid.

Stroll was a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy as a kid, and got to race against some of the best drivers in the world in an event organized by the Scuderia. Back in 2010, the Maranello-based outfit held a kart race for the whole team, and all of Ferrari’s staff and academy drivers took part in it. Then Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa also drove in this event.

Surprisingly, an 11-year-old Lance Stroll beat Massa in the race to finish P2! This was shocking and very impressive but he still couldn’t do enough to beat twp-time World Champion Alonso.

Also read: “He saw Fernando Alonso as a bad guy”- Lance Stroll saw his $20 Million a year teammate as villian against Michael Schumacher

Lance Stroll almost beat future teammate Fernando Alonso as the age of 11

Earlier this year, Sebastian Vettel announced that he would leave F1 at the end of the season. It meant that a seat opened up at Aston Martin and before rumors started emerging as to would take the spot, Alonso revealed it would be none other than him.

It was a surprising move since he was leaving a team that had made huge strides in 2022. Regardless, the Silverstone-based outfit offered him a multi-year deal and the 41-year-old felt it was the right move.

Alonso will be teaming up with Stroll next year at Aston Martin. A lot of people feel that the Spaniard will comprehensively outperform the Canadian during their time together. However, if the kart race during their Ferrari days is taken into account, we may be in for a shock!

Stroll has to be at the top of his game if he stands any chance of beating Fernando Alonso as his teammate.

Also read: Toto Wolff admits Lewis Hamilton is pushing for extension in $40 Million contract with Mercedes

About the author

Somin Bhattacharjee

Somin Bhattacharjee

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Formula 1 Editor Somin Bhattacharjee fell for the sport as well as Fernando Alonso on the same day — during the Spaniard’s thrilling victory at the German GP in 2010. Over the years, the passion magnified manyfold, and metamorphosed into a writing career in 2021. Though holding a bachelor's degree in marketing, Somin discovered his true calling in writing. He has penned over 2,700 articles for TheSportsRush, presenting a diverse range — news reports, opinions, and exclusives. A true Tiffosi, Somin never gives up on a chance to defend the Ferrari boys as a fan. As a sports writer though, he remains objective to the core and relishes opportunities to follow and engage in dissecting the action during races. That’s where the real thrill lies for him. Beyond the racetrack, Somin plays different sports including soccer. He enjoys exploring other sporting events and proudly supports Spanish soccer club Real Madrid.

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