Lance Stroll is not lacking in self-confidence. Ahead of his home Grand Prix in Canada next weekend, the Aston Martin driver says he believes he can turn his father Lawrence’s wishful thinking into reality. stroll senior recently stated that he believes his son will be able to consistently drive at the same level as Fernando Alonso in Formula 1 until the end of the season.
“I’ll definitely try,” says the 24-year-old, “and I’ll try to bring my ‘A-game’ to every weekend. Maybe that’s good enough to get there. I think it’ll happen . But I have to look at myself, focus on my stuff. That’s where my head is now.”
Alonso is “extremely experienced, has won world championships and brings a lot of knowledge to the team. I enjoy working alongside him. He drives at an incredibly high level. That’s impressive to see.”
But the 2005 and 2006 world champion couldn’t teach him anything directly: “I don’t think so,” says Stroll. “With teammates, it’s more that you benefit from learning something from the work ethic and approach. Or how he sets up the car and drives it, from the driving style.”
“But I have to look after myself. Every driver drives differently and everyone needs different things from the car. I’ve definitely learned something from him, but ultimately I have to drive the car myself and get the best out of myself. I think it is It’s important that you remain true to yourself. You can’t copy everything from someone else.”
Alonso praises teammate Stroll
As an outsider, you could get the impression that Alonso sees himself as something of a mentor for Stroll. When he caught up with the young Canadian in Barcelona, Alonso announced on the pit radio that Stroll shouldn’t worry that he would attack him, he just wanted to buffer a bit at the back. One example of many.
“I’ve known Lance since 2012,” Alonso recalls when he was the Ferrari team’s superstar and Stroll, then just 13 years old, was accepted into the Ferrari academy. “Lance shows he has the speed and determination. You could see it earlier this year when he was riding with a broken hand. You only do that if you’re really passionate about something.”
“The most important thing for him is that he can perform consistently, every weekend. We’ve seen many times – in wet qualifying sessions, in races, at starts, on the first laps – that he can deliver exceptional performances. But then there was Other weekends too, the result didn’t come so easily.”
“So I think consistency has to be the next step in his career. Consistently being in the top 5. Then the points will sort themselves out at the end of the year. But with his motivation and his determination, and with the momentum that we have at Aston Martin, it’s only a matter of time,” Alonso is convinced.
Seventh Formula 1 season for Stroll
Stroll, after all champion in the Italian Formula 4 and the Formula 3 European Championship, is driving his seventh Formula 1 season in 2023. He has been on the podium three times so far, most recently at Racing Point in Bahrain 2020. He also achieved the first and only pole position of his career in wet qualifying in Istanbul 2020.
Father Lawrence, one of the main owners of the Aston Martin team, has ordered a double podium for Sunday’s home race in Montreal. “If we go home here on Sunday afternoon with two Astons on the podium, then it’s been a pretty good day,” grins Stroll jun.
“It’s one of our strengths as teammates that Fernando and I have a good relationship,” he says. “We communicate well about how we can improve the car and we get along well with each other, so it’s great to have him as a teammate.”