F1’s underrated heroes; ep.3, Lance Stroll

Okay, okay, okay. I can already tell a few of you are turning your noses up at this. However, I’ll stand my ground here. Lance Stroll is a very, very good driver, who is a little bit error prone - there’s been a hell of a lot worse and we ALL know it.

There’s almost not a single driver on the current grid who isn’t there because there’s money in their family or friend circle, it’s just some have more than others and a touch of nepotism.

📸Stroll ahead of Hülkenberg in Montreal.

Stroll entered F1 in 2017 with Williams and faltered to a start with three consecutive DNF’s before scoring his first points in his home race kickstarted his season, before one race later scoring a rookie third place podium in Baku after a drag race with Valtteri Bottas to the line saw him narrowly miss second place. Penalties at Monza for other drivers saw him promoted on the grid from fourth to second and he became (at the time) F1’s youngest ever F1 front row sitter. He’d end the season 12th overall, one place behind his teammate, Felipe Massa.

📸At the time, Stroll was just the fifth rookie driver to take a podium in F1.

Williams faltered through 2018 and Stroll scored six out of seven points accrued by Williams next to Russian driver Sergei Sirotkin, and the Canadian departed the struggling team for Racing Point at the end of the season as his father bought into the team after the threat of administration.

📸This lap one crash with Brendon Hartley at his home race was a low point in the 2018 season.

The RP19 he drove for 2019 left a lot to be desired, and next to Sergio Perez the team mustered up a seventh place Constructors’ Championship finish with Stroll beaten reasonably comfortably by his Mexican counterpart, despite taking the team’s best result as he narrowly missed the podium at the chaotic German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, coming home fourth.

📸Stroll was one of multiple drivers to score a strong result at a wild German Grand Prix in 2019.

The RP20, referred to as the ‘Pink Mercedes’ due to it’s striking resemblance to the 2019 Mercedes W10, saw Racing Point take a dramatic upturn in fortunes, with Stroll scoring points in nine out of ten races he finished (five retirements, one withdrawn due to COVID contraction). A first ever pole position mustered in tricky conditions in Turkey at Istanbul Park caught the eye as he mastered and oily, wet track to go quicker than anyone else, although damage curtailed his progress in the race itself. He took two podiums, one third place in Pierre Gasly’s Monza triumph and the other, accompanying teammate Perez as he celebrated his first F1 victory in a wild Sakhir Grand Prix alongside Esteban Ocon.

📸Perez (left) and Stroll share the podium.

Since Racing Point transitioned to Aston Martin at the start of 2021, the form of the entire team and not just Stroll, has been up for debate, despite the presence of world champion driver next to the Canadian with Sebastian Vettel and currently, Fernando Alonso struggling to score consistently good results for a team who’s aim was to become world champions…which is very clearly yet to materialise. Stroll’s own best season with Aston was the 2023 season, with wet weather performances a key part of his success on track, the Canadian now known as one of the best wet weather or mixed conditions drivers on the current grid.

📸Aston Martin’s struggles have been well documented.

So like him or not, there’s no denying a driver with good talent exists within him, and while his interest seems dependent at times - he’s proven himself a worthy F1 driver of many, many occasions.

So, when you take a deeper dive, you see one of F1’s most experienced drivers with 193 race entries (27th on F1’s all time list), who himself holds high places in official F1 records:

• Second youngest driver to start a race (18 years, 148 days - Australian GP, 2017)

• Second youngest driver to take an F1 podium (18 years, 239 days - Azerbaijan, 2017)

• Second youngest front row starter (18 years, 310 days - Italian GP, 2017

• Third most starts with a single constructor (Mercedes, 2017-2025)

• Seventh youngest pole sitter (22 years, 17 days - Turkey, 2020)

There’s one probably unwanted one however:

• Most races without a fastest lap (193, and counting)

📸At Monza in 2017.

A testament to the up/down career he’s had in Formula 1. He’s not done yet though.

📸Image credits: Formula Motorsport Limited, Sky Sports.