Lance Stroll’s future in Formula 1 has come under the spotlight as the Canadian fails to live up to the standard being set by his teammate Fernando Alonso.
In five of the six races that have taken place this season, Alonso has stood on the podium, showing the potential of the Aston Martin Formula 1 car this year.
As Stroll has only managed a season best of P4 in Australia, questions have started to swirl over whether he is the right person to sit in the driving seat at Aston Martin.
“Formula One is very easy when you are sitting on the sofa,” Alonso said, defending his teammate amid mounting criticism.
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“He has been very unlucky at the last two events.
“But, if we go back to Bahrain, driving with one hand he was very fast. Then Jeddah, he had the exhaust problem when he was in front of the Ferraris in P5.
“Then in Miami, we were risking too much probably in Q1 (by using just one set of tyres) and that compromised the race and in Monaco the debris from Lando’s car — the McLaren — it completely compromised the whole weekend,”
With the Aston Martin team boss, Lawrence Stroll, being Lance’s father, the Canadian is likely to be safe in his seat for now but, without some improvement in the next few races, it might be harder for Stroll to defend his son’s position.
While he has cost Aston Martin valuable points in their fight for P2 in the Constructors’ Standings, Alonso believes that Stroll is playing a crucial role in offering key information about the car to help shape its development.
“He has provided the right feedback, info and strategy about everything,” Alonso said.
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“I really hope for him that he has a little more luck because I don’t think that he’s missing any pace. It’s just opportunistic moments that were not in his side.”
Whatever Stroll’s future holds for the Canadian, it looks clear that Aston Martin will be pleased with their decision to hire Alonso for this season, as he powers their progress.
After the first six races of the year, Alonso sits in a respectable P3 position in the Drivers’ Standings, just 51 points behind title-leader Max Verstappen and 13 points away from Sergio Perez.