Is Lance Stroll that bad?
Getting into Formula 1, I've watched YouTubers covering F1 like Josh Revell, Matt and Tommy P1, Aldas, FP1 Will, and Rocket Powered Mohawk, among others. It seems like some of them, probably a good number of them are against Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll. Why? More than likely because his a Formula One driver because of his dad Lawrence Stroll who owns the Aston Martin team after buying the team after the team then known as Force India was put into Administration after the owner at the time was busting for Financial Misdeeds in 2018. Then it went to being Racing Point and now Aston Martin. When he bought the team, he put his son in one of those seats for the 2019 season, kicking Esteban Ocon to the curb. Ocon had to wait a year before getting another chance at Formula One driving for Renault now Alpine. It wasn't just Aston Martin, before owning the team, Big Daddy Lawrence Stroll was an investor in Williams Racing and in 2016 got the Williams Family to put his then-18-year-old son Lance into a seat for the 2017 season mostly by giving Williams millions of dollars which they needed. It wasn't just the age but also the fact he was jumping to F1 from F3. That's a big jump. Granted yes, Lance was the F3 Champion in 2016 and won the Italian F4 series some years prior and yes Max Verstappen also made the jump to F1 from F3 at just 17. Both of them are the reasons why the FIA has the points system for the Junior Formula series and requires a driver to have 40 points to get a Super License to drive in Formula One. Now, drivers would drive in the Formula Two series instead of skipping Formula Two to go straight to Formula One. Honestly, I believe Lance Stroll should have gone to Formula Two instead. Would he been a better driver if he had at least a season in F2, who knows. I will say this about Lance, he did what Max didn't do. Get a podium in his rookie year, which Lance did in Azerbaijan and he's the last driver to get a podium for Williams racing in a complete race. Yes, George Russell did get a podium for Williams but it was for the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix and not many people considered that a race. It was two laps with the safety car and that was it. Anyway, Max Verstappen is a three-time World Champion and Lance has three podiums to his name which is not bad. It would have a different story if it was just one. However, Lance hasn't been higher than 11th Driver Championship Standings in 2020 which was his best season scoring two podiums that season. He's currently 10th right now but he has both Alpine drivers breathing down his neck and I'm sure Ocon wants to go past Lance in the standings. He had a good start to the season especially after he got in a serious bike accident about two weeks prior to the season finishing 6th in the 2023 opening and getting a 4th place finish in Australia. After Australia, it hasn't been the same for him with a 6th place in Spain and prior to this upcoming race in Austin, he has been pointless for the past five races. It seems like he has gotten more time in F1 than other drivers because of his dad. However, with his dad running the team, will he get the boot? In my opinion, does his dad care more about where his team in the Constructor standings or trying to make his son an F1 winner? In the beginning of the 2023 season, it looked like Aston Martin was the second-fastest team with Fernando Alonso getting six podiums in the first eight races before coming down to earth and only scoring one more podium with Alonso since Canada. They would be lucky to hold off McLaren for fourth in the construction standings. I hate to say it but Papa Stroll should just fire his son and put Felipe Drugovich in to see how he does. Better yet, Lance should just quit after the season and just end it as an F1 driver. Rumor has it, Lance could stay on at Aston Martin for the World Endurance Championship team which would start in 2025. However, that would probably mean another season at F1 for Lance Stroll. Hey, I'm sure Lance Stroll is a nice guy and a better driver than what most people give him credit for with three podiums to his name but just freaking leave F1 and go into IndyCar or NASCAR already. You had your time and had some success but it's time to get another driver to drive with Alonso now. I hate to pile now but he hasn't built off his success in 2020. I know people would say that shouldn't it be his decision to leave. To some extent but remember most athletes don't leave on their terms, it's sad but it's Sports.
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