Lance Stroll has been in utter doldrums this season. The Canadian Aston Martin driver has been struggling for pace all throughout the season. His results being a firm testament to the fact. Now, in light of his dismal performances, the Silverstone-based crew are touted to be frustrated with the 24-year old. The financial implications of his torrid season being a major factor in their attitude towards Stroll by his team according to The Race’s F1 Podcast.
The AMR23, despite it’s rocky middle stint to the season, deserves more than just a P4-P5 finish in the Constructors’. But the disparity between the points scored by Fernando Alonso and Stroll show exactly how the Canadian racing driver through his performances and expensive crashes has deprived the team of a higher championship rank. Currently, Alonso sits in 4th in the driver’s standings with 183 points whilst Stroll is 10th with just 47. Ferrari is 68 points ahead in P3 while McLaren chase P4 with just an 11-point deficit.
The final constructors’ standings at the end of the Abu Dhabi GP will have a massive financial implication on teams, no doubt. But with that being said, it also has a substantial trickle down effect on the crew members and the larger employee base of a Formula 1 team.
Lance Stroll is denying Aston Martin employees a slice of the cake with his dismal performances
During a recent episode of The Race’s F1 podcast, Glenn Freeman was quick to reveal a rumor that was rallied down to him. The Silverstone-based team had their financial futures tied to Lance Stroll’s performance. And as his season goes from bad to worse, his team have started blaming him for their own losses.
On the podcast, he said, “Pretty much all the employees in that [Aston Martin] team have bonuses based on their Constructors’ championship position. And the higher up in the championship they go, the bigger the steps in the bonuses are. So, there is a kind of underlying frustration with the Lance Stroll situation, in that team. You’ve only got to look at his points total and Fernando Alonso’s points total and you can see!”
Whatever the financial losses may be, Stroll’s attitude within the team is adding to the concerns of his co-workers who probably are facing a double whammy due to his petulance and poor string of results.
Despite being an impediment to the team, Stroll runs away scot free after physical altercation
The 2023 Qatar GP was arguably one of the lowest points for Stroll Jr. After yet another squalid Q1 performance, the 24-year-old was knocked out of Q1 once again. This time however, things took an ugly turn as he shoved his personal trainer, Henry Howe on live television.
In the aftermath, Stroll issued an apology and the FIA responded by saying, “The Compliance Officer has noted this apology and issued a written warning.” Internally, Aston Martin did not take any action against Stroll, too.
But, in the backdrop of how costly Stroll’s lack of pace can be for the team and his temper tantrums, he surely isn’t the most popular bloke in the Aston Martin garage.
