It’s been a challenging start to 2023 for Lance Stroll, who so far this season has been engulfed by Fernando Alonso’s shadow.
The two-time World Champion has claimed six podiums already this season for the Silverstone-based team, whilst Stroll hasn’t finished any higher than fourth.
In actual fact, Stroll has only qualified and finished ahead of Alonso once this season, at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Alonso has been magnificent, with Stroll perhaps wishing he still had Sebastian Vettel alongside him.
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Stroll and Vettel were much more even in terms of performance, as the Canadian beat the four-time World Champion nine times in 2022.
Former Ferrari and Williams team manager Peter Windsor doesn’t see Lance Stroll leaving Aston Martin anytime soon, despite the fact the Canadian driver is currently holding the team back.
Windsor thinks the fact Alonso is dominating Stroll so easily doesn’t say much about Vettel, who never really looked as good as the Spaniard whilst racing for Aston Martin.
“He’s actually looking worse against Alonso than anyone he’s ever had next to him, isn’t he?” Windsor said during a livestream on his YouTube channel.
“Which says a lot about Fernando, and doesn’t say much about Sebastian Vettel actually.”
Aston Martin’s biggest problem is that they need Stroll to be finishing considerably higher, if they truly want to become a championship contender going forwards.
Alonso is effectively leading Aston Martin’s charge alone, making some question whether Stroll could be replaced by a better driver.
Windsor doesn’t see the 24-year-old leaving given that his father owns the team, whilst he also reckons the Canadian wouldn’t be offered a seat elsewhere.
“Wouldn’t that be funny if Lance Stroll told his old man that he was leaving Aston Martin to go and drive for, I don’t know, whatever, Red Bull,” Windsor added.
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“Leaving the old man running the team that he’s created and bought purely to enable his son to go racing. It would be funny, that’s all you can say.”
Windsor continued: “But no, I don’t think that will happen.
“Because the whole reason that Lawrence Stroll is in Formula 1 and bought that team and created that whole thing is in order to give his son Lance a drive, I’m not sure Lance would have got to drive anywhere else, so end of story really.”