Former Formula 1 World Champion Damon Hill has claimed that Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll must end his teammate Fernando Alonso’s career.
Alonso has outqualified and outscored Stroll in every race of the season, securing three consecutive podiums for the team with P3 finishes in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia.
The 41-year-old’s success has showed the potential the Aston Martin has to score significant points for the team, putting them in contention for the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles should Red Bull slip up.
On the other side of the garage, Stroll has secured sixth, a DNF and a fourth place finish in the opening races of the season.
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Hill has claimed that, to make a name for himself in the sport, Stroll must set the goal of ending Alonso’s career, beating the older driver in every outing, just as George Russell is working to do against Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
“To really get [to the top], he’d have to set his goal as ending Fernando Alonso’s career,” Hill stated on the F1 Nation podcast.
“Now that sounds brutal, but that’s what George Russell is trying to do. That’s what Nico Hulkenberg is trying to with [Kevin] Magnussen.
“You have to establish yourself as the undisputed King, the number one in the team.
“Lance has got the natural ability, [but] I don’t think as he stands today, he is a future World Champion on his own merits, in the same way that Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are.
“He’d be knocking spots off Alonso if he was that person, if you want to go to the next level, then that’s where he’s got to start doing.
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“Speaking from my own experience, I had other levels that I had no concept of, until I really was forced into those situations and had to deliver, and there’s more potential in every driver than they realise,” the former world champion said.
Stroll is currently sitting behind Alonso in the Drivers’ Standings, with the Canadian in sixth, while the Spaniard is in 3rd.