While Fernando Alonso has been the second-best driver on the grid after Max Verstappen with an Aston Martin, his teammate Lance Stroll is barely a shadow of him. The Canadian driver is not only failing to catch up to Alonso but also failing to do the bare minimum despite having a decent AMR23 underneath him. Now, Aston Martin boss Mike Krack has broken his silence on the underperforming Canadian, as per PlanetF1.
Alonso, who has been mighty this season, is responsible for 78% of the points scored in the team as he has a whopping 168 points after the conclusion of the Dutch Grand Prix. Compared to him, Stroll has only 47 points. Furthermore, the Asturian driver has seven podiums to his name so far, whereas Stroll has none.
Our fastest lap of qualifying day: 1:21.417. ⏱#ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/KY5TQxaqBS
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) September 2, 2023
Since Stroll is underperforming coming into this season, there are rumors that the Canadian will be leaving the team by the end of the year. Team Principal, Krack decided to address the rumors by himself.
Mike Krack reveals facts about Stroll’s future
Mike Krack has recently opened up on Stroll’s future as the speculations regarding his stay in the team increased. Admittedly, it is unlikely that the 24-year-old will be sacked from the team given he is the son of Lawrence Stroll, who is the owner of the team.
Despite this, the Aston Martin honcho stated to the press that the Aston Martin driver is working very hard to perform and leaving no stone unturned. When asked if the continued underperformance made Stroll think to quit F1, he said, “No, no.”
Shifting focus to race day. ➡️
We’ll be ready.#ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/eMNjEE7apK
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) September 2, 2023
Following this, Krack added on Stroll’s performance and how he is trying his best, “I think we have seen over the last weeks a very hard-working driver trying to analyze every little detail where he can improve, being in the simulator, driving a lot, so I think there’s nothing that goes in the direction.”
Why is Lance Stroll underperforming?
The 2023 F1 season started in a dismal way for Lance Stroll. Days before the first race, the Canadian driver injured his wrist and therefore could not take part in practice. He returned to race at Bahrain, nonetheless.
Apart from his own deficit, luck also didn’t favor the Canadian. Stroll had to face technical difficulties on more than one occasion this season and therefore started the race from the back of the grid.
Even in the ongoing race weekend in Italy, he did not had enough preparation time as Felipe Drugovich took part in the Free Practice on Friday. As a result, the Canadian failed to make amends and qualified in P20 for Sunday’s race at Autodromo Nazionale Monza.