Lance Stroll has been under heavy scrutiny after consistently letting his teammates down and failing to keep up with Fernando Alonso. Following another Q1 exit in Qatar on Friday, emotions ran high for the Canadian driver, as he was visibly frustrated with his performance. It all began when Stroll docked his car in the Aston Martin garage and threw his steering wheel away in anger.
As he got out of the car, one of Stroll’s trainers told him he needed to head outside and get weighed. However, Stroll brushed him aside and wanted to go out the back gate. As the trainer tried stepping in front of the 24-year-old, Stroll appeared to have pushed the trainer aside. Most of what followed happened behind garage dividers, so it is unclear how the incident ended. The aggression did not stop there as Stroll was again too disrespectful when speaking to F1 TV about his early exit during an interview.
As such, the premier members of the F1 community took to X to express their disgust over the actions of the Canadian driver.
F1 community irate with Lance Stroll
Often, when something happens in the world of sports, fans are quick to take things to social media to express their views on the same. However, things have taken a new turn with the latest actions of Lance Stroll, as some of the biggest journalists and experts took matters into their own hands after Stroll’s lashing out in Qatar.
Tom Bellingham and Glenn Freeman tried pointing out what could have been the cause behind the 24-year-old’s frustration.
The hilarious thing about Lance getting so mad at qualifying 17th is it’s actually his joint best qualifying performance since the Dutch Grand Prix 💀
— Tom Bellingham (@TomP1Bellingham) October 6, 2023
The Aston Martin isn’t the potent force it was earlier in the season, but Lance Stroll’s current form in it is unacceptable.
And he knows it.#F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/hjMj0ZADAe
— Glenn Freeman (@glennfreeman39) October 6, 2023
Meanwhile, Laura Leslie posted that Stroll’s actions were a “sackable move”, and it would be better for him to call it quits.
In a normal work place and this is a sackable move.
Stroll is 24 years old, he’s not a kid. He knows better. When you lay hands on staff members in anger then it should be game over. #F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/EQQ9yXbSzT
— Laura Leslie (@LauraLeslieF1) October 6, 2023
If I was Lance Stroll I would simply retire and spend my father’s millions 🫡#F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/zLcLJRLZYj
— Laura Leslie (@LauraLeslieF1) October 6, 2023
Famous journalist and YouTube personality Matt Gallagher also called the incident “out of order” and asked people’s opinion on what Lawrence Stroll should do.
Lance Stroll shoving his personal trainer out the way…
So out of order
— Matt Gallagher (@MattP1Gallagher) October 6, 2023
If you’re Lawrence Stroll, what do you do about Lance?
— Matt Gallagher (@MattP1Gallagher) October 6, 2023
How long can Lawrence Stroll afford his son’s errors?
A long-standing belief within the F1 paddock states Stroll only has his seat in Aston Martin because his father is the team’s owner. Many even joke about the 24-year-old being the only one on the grid who has a lifetime contract in F1- something even Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton don’t have. As things continue to get worse for the son and he continues to cost his team millions in pointless developments and repair costs, the question of ‘how long can Lawrence [Stroll] continue to afford his son as his team’s second driver?’
When compared to Fernando Alonso, Stroll Jr. stands as the team’s weaker link by a mile. While the senior driver sits in P4 in the driver’s standings with 174 points, Stroll is in P10 with a mere 47 points. As such, the major imbalance between their drivers is further cause for concern for the Silverstone outfit. The team and its owners need to figure out a way to bring parity back to the team, while experts suggest Stroll Jr. should look at other avenues to make a living and step away from F1.
