Billionaire Lawrence Stroll deserves credit for investing a significant amount of money to support his son Lance’s aspirations of becoming a World Champion in Formula 1. Stroll went as far as purchasing an F1 team and transforming it into the impressive Aston Martin mega-project it is today. This is a prime example of a devoted father going above and beyond for his child, provided he has the financial means to do so.
Now in his eighth season in Formula 1, Lance Stroll’s performance has arguably declined compared to his time with Racing Point. He failed to outshine Sebastian Vettel, who has had his fair share of experience in the sport, and now with Fernando Alonso as his teammate, it is evident that Stroll is not cut out for the top tier of racing.
The Strolls must have been disappointed with Lance’s qualifying result of 16th place at Suzuka. If they were not already aware that Lance lacks the necessary skills, this performance surely made it abundantly clear. Alternatively, they may be in a state of denial, unwilling to accept the reality of the situation.
The disparity between Alonso and Stroll was starkly evident at Suzuka. This circuit is known for being old-school and unforgiving, punishing any mistakes made by the drivers. It separates the truly skilled from the rest. Today’s qualifying session perfectly exemplified this, with 25-year-old Stroll being the “boy” and 42-year-old Alonso being the seasoned “man.” Alonso achieved an impressive second place on the timing screens during the initial phase of qualifying, placing himself between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Stroll, on the other hand, languished in 16th place, a significant 0.77 seconds behind his more experienced teammate. Alonso went on to further improve his time in Q3.
Reflecting on his Saturday performance, Alonso expressed his satisfaction with securing fifth place: “I am very happy with fifth position today. Qualifying in Suzuka is always a special experience, with low fuel loads and fresh tires. Everything felt good in the car today. It may have been unexpected to be as competitive as we were. Compared to last year, when we were over one second slower than the pole position time in Suzuka, we are now only four-tenths away. It seems like we are heading in the right direction. It’s too early to determine if our updates have made a significant impact, but we will analyze all the data we have. Historically, we have been faster in qualifying than in the race, so let’s see what happens on Sunday,” said Alonso, who is about to embark on his 381st Grand Prix start. His last Formula 1 victory dates back to 2013.
Last year in September at Suzuka, when the AMR23 was no longer in contention for podium finishes, the Canadian also failed to advance past Q1 with a time only sufficient for P17, and once again seven-tenths of a second behind Alonso’s P10 effort. In simpler terms, the young driver is not improving in comparison to the experienced veteran who is 17 years his senior.
Stroll admitted his shortcomings, stating, “I simply did not have the necessary speed in Qualifying today and we are still unsure why. I believe I was pushing my car to its limits, but I lacked the velocity to make it out of Q3.”
He continued, “The updated package appears to be working on Fernando’s AMR24, so we will review everything this evening to determine if there were any other factors affecting my car. We have a lot of work ahead of us before the Grand Prix, and we must capitalize on any opportunities that come our way,” Stroll added.
It is worth noting that Alonso’s updated chassis was only available for FP3, while Stroll had the updates on his car from the beginning of FP1 in Japan. Despite having only one hour to adapt to the changes, “Fernando handed Lance a complete defeat,” as stated by our technical expert Mark Kay.
This situation is not only embarrassing for the Aston Martin brand that Stroll is trying to establish, but it also serves as a wake-up call for Lawrence to take this ambitious project seriously. It may be time for him to have a serious conversation with his son Lance and consider saying, “Formula 1 is not the right path for you, my son. Should we instead focus on building a team for Le Mans?”