Ex-F1 driver Marc Surer has hailed Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll as the perfect “number two”, with the Canadian not being “super talented” but still being “better than people think”.
Stroll has faced a largely disappointing season; however, so has retiring team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
Aston Martin have failed to design a car that is capable of consistently finishing in the points, with the Silverstone-based team currently occupying ninth in the Constructors’ Championship.
The Canadian is currently P18 in the Drivers’ Championship on a mere five points, whereas Vettel is in P13 on a much more reasonable 20 points.
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Vettel is currently ahead of outgoing McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo, who is in a considerably stronger car.
Whilst it has been a tough year for Stroll, it can’t be forgotten that the 23-year-old is a three-time podium finisher and has a sole pole position to his name.
Stroll claimed an incredible pole at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, which saw the circuit become unbelievably slippery following a heavy downpour.
Surer is convinced that Stroll is a good driver, but that he’s “not the super talent like a Vettel or an Alonso – he is a number two driver”.
“Lance Stroll is better than people think,” Surer said in a video on the YouTube channel of Formel1.de.
“Don’t forget, he also set the fastest time. He can do that.”
“He is not bad and he is good enough to score points.
“After all, he proves that again and again – with a car that is bad at the moment.”
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has spoken before that Stroll is “strongly undervalued”, with the Canadian having been in and around the points on many occasions this season.
Reliability has also been an issue for the British team this season, with both Vettel and Stroll having retired from the recent Italian Grand Prix.
Its preposterous to imagine that Stroll would ever be dropped by the team, especially given the fact that his father, Lawrence Stroll, owns it.
Surer believes that Stroll “fulfils the function” of being a number two, arguably in a similar way to Sergio Pérez at Red Bull.
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“He doesn’t drop off as blatantly against Vettel as you would expect,” Surer explained.
“So he fulfils the function as a number two driver. If you compare it to McLaren, he’s in a better position.
“Stroll is closer to Vettel than [Daniel] Ricciardo is to [Lando] Norris. If the car was a bit better, Stroll would also be in the points regularly.”