Jun.25 (GMM) Another top name at Aston Martin has defended Lance Stroll amid a turbulent time in the Canadian’s Formula 1 career.
The fact that his father is billionaire Lawrence Stroll – owner of the Silverstone based team – has dogged the 26-year-old throughout his eight seasons on the grid to date.
Worse still, Stroll’s teammate since 2023 has been Fernando Alonso, who despite being much older than Stroll is ranked among F1’s true all-time greats.
Aston Martin simulator driver Dani Juncadella admits it’s a particular problem for Stroll.
“It’s already mentally difficult to be dealing with the level of people like Fernando, like (Max) Verstappen, who kill to win,” he told DAZN.
“Perhaps when you’re then from a slightly different world, a bubble, different to that of any human being – your father is who he is, you’re never going to lack anything in life. Maybe it’s a little more difficult to fight in the really difficult moments. Harder to know how to get that extra something that Fernando knows how to get,” Juncadella added.
Some think three years next to Alonso, 43, has not only deepened Stroll’s on-track struggle, but also worsened his noticeably uninterested behaviour off-track.
Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer Mike Krack insists that Stroll is different behind the scenes.
“We see someone else entirely in the debriefings or in our daily interactions,” he said. “What we see doesn’t fit the image he has from the outside at all.”
Juncadella admits the situation may be getting to Stroll this season.
“In the end you end up becoming so obsessed with the idea that you can’t beat the other guy that it works against you. That may have happened a bit with Stroll and Alonso,” he said.
“Last year, we saw moments where Stroll shone, even some races where Fernando wasn’t having a good weekend and Stroll did better. But now we’re on a trend where Fernando beats him every time.”
Suddenly, big names are being linked with Aston Martin for 2026 – including George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda, and even Max Verstappen.
“You have to imagine what a difficult situation this is for the father,” said 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg. “He has to decide whether to hire someone else and eventually fire his own son.
“It’s a horrible situation for him.”
Adrian Newey, arguably the greatest F1 designer of all time who now works at Aston Martin, recently defended Stroll, insisting he is underrated.
Trackside boss Krack is now defending Stroll’s work ethic.
“On Mondays, many drivers are probably somewhere at the beach or on vacation,” he said. “Lance is at work, driving the simulator or looking at things for next year’s car.”
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