Ever since Lawrence Stroll took charge of the failing Force India team, and turned it into Aston Martin (after Racing Point), he has made a lot of effort and investments to make it a championship-winning team. However, according to F1 journalist Nate Saunders, Lance Stroll may be a hurdle in his plan to make Aston Martin a front-runner.
Speaking on ESPN’s F1 Unlapped podcast, Saunders explained how Lawrence Stroll has done a lot of impressive things to turn Aston Martin’s fortunes. It includes building a new factory in Silverstone, hiring a top-tier driver like Fernando Alonso, and hiring top personnel from other teams, which could soon include the name of legendary F1 car designer, Adrian Newey.
However, according to Saunders, the one thing that goes against the Canadian billionaire’s plans of turning Aston Martin into a championship-winning outfit is that he has kept his son Lance Stroll in the second seat alongside Alonso. Saunders remarked,
“But I think the one thing with Lawrence Stroll that doesn’t quite tally with that ambition is the fact that he’s kept his son [Lance Stroll]in the car.”
This becomes clear when you compare how Lance Stroll has fared against Alonso in their time together as teammates. In 2023, Alonso was fourth in the drivers’ standings with 206 points to his name. In contrast, Lance was 10th in the standings with just 74 points and no podiums.
Relatively, the #18 driver has made some progress in his performance this season. He has been matching Alonso’s pace on all fronts and even out qualifying at times. So, as the other pieces in the puzzle are falling into place for Aston, Stroll’s form coming near Alonso’s benchmark would certainly help, despite their performance deteriorating in 2024.
Is Aston Martin’s project shaping up well?
Back in 2021, Lawrence Stroll highlighted his plan to make Aston Martin a powerhouse team on the grid when he predicted that they would be in a position to fight for the championship in four to five years.
UPDATE: The development of Aston Martin’s £200 million F1 factory in Silverstone is progressing rapidly with the construction of Buildings Two and Three, including a brand-new wind tunnel, well underway.
Building One was officially opened on the eve of last year’s British… pic.twitter.com/efymXaOqpq
— Jefferson (@Jefferson_MFG) April 12, 2024
At the time, they were in the process of building a new factory and wind tunnel and were aiming to increase their staff from 500 to around 800. The Silverstone team saw a noteworthy improvement in performance in 2023 when they suddenly jumped from seventh to the second-best team at the start of the season.
Alonso capitalized on the newfound pace of the Aston Martin to secure eight podiums through the season. However, the performance gradually faded away in mid-2023 as the team picked the wrong development path for their car.
And it has only gotten worse in 2024 as Aston Martin is now considerably slower than the top four teams in the standings. Alonso and Stroll would count on the bolstered infrastructure and human resources to facilitate their recovery in their on-track performance sooner rather than later.
