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Lance Stroll has come under fire after a stinging rebuke from a BBC commentator.
Lance Stroll leads Esteban Ocon’s Alpine in Suzuka (Image Credit: Aston Martin F1 Media Centre). Unfortunately, in the highly competitive world of Formula 1, Lance Stroll’s 2024 performances have mirrored his 2023 disappointment. Teammate Fernando Alonso conclusively beat Stroll in the opening four rounds.
Stroll’s start to 2024 sees him on just nine points compared to Alonso’s 24. Stroll suffered a shock Q2 elimination at the season opener in Bahrain. He crashed out during the opening laps of Saudi Arabia and failed to score a point last time out in Japan. Japan proved particularly difficult due to a Q1 elimination.
Following this shaky start to the year, Stroll’s performances are again being questioned. As reported by PlanetF1, BBC commentator Harry Benjamin has questioned Stroll’s position in the team. While others have questioned Stroll’s ability and commitment in the past, Benjamin’s is the most significant to date.
A costly driver?
Speaking on the Chequered Flag podcast, Benjamin said despite having a teammate as strong as Fernando Alonso, his father is the sole reason he drives for Aston Martin:
“Look Fernando Alonso is Fernando Alonso let’s not underestimate that, but he is absolutely wiping the floor, and then some, once again with Lance Stroll.”
“And Stroll, you don’t get pole positions, you don’t get on the podium in Formula One if you’re a bad driver, but if he were any other driver, he would not still be in Formula One right now based on his last few years of performance.”
“He’s only in that team, and we all know why, is because his father owns the team and runs the team.”
LAP 7/50
Stroll into the barriers
He tells his Aston Martin team he's okay
⚠️ SAFETY CAR ⚠️#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/5eaIiGItkw
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 9, 2024
How long can the status quo continue for?
Benjamin said Stroll needs to urgently find pace in his AMR24, also stating the team lost third place in the Constructors’ championship last season due to his driving:
“Surely, there’s got to be the conversation at some stage unless he dramatically picks up performance – and even with an upgrade this weekend he didn’t have the pace advantage within himself, he said that in his interviews – and you have to wonder how long can he go on within himself doing this and being absolutely beaten every time.”
“Aston Martin lost out on a top three position in the Constructors’ Championship last year because they only had one man scoring the points. Okay, Stroll picked up a few points here and there, but he’s not pulling his weight in that team. Fernando Alonso is once again carrying it.”
The BBC commentator highlighted what he sees Aston Martin needs to do to become a title-winning force in F1: have a second driver regularly scoring points.
Who could replace Stroll?
Lance Stroll, Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly on the drivers parade ahead of the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool/Getty Images)His choices would see Stroll replaced, believing Yuki Tsunoda is the ideal second driver for the team:
“If Aston Martin wants to become a serious threat in Formula One, they have the facilities and the money to do it, they need a second driver. Well, first of all, they need to hold on to Fernando Alonso, then they need a second driver, who is capable of scoring points and banking them.”
“They get Honda power units in 2026 – I would like to make the case for Yuki Tsunoda, if he’s not rated in Red Bull to be promoted or to even stay in that RB team, at the moment he’s trouncing Daniel Ricciardo.”
“Okay, I don’t think he’s a World Championship driver. But if he’d been in that second Aston Martin, he would have banked more points than Stroll has so far. The Honda link with Tsunoda is my sort of reasoning for that.”
Is it time for Stroll to go?
Benjamin bluntly stated that Lance Stroll will not be a World Champion in Formula 1, in a stinging rebuke of the Canadian:
His son is not going to be a World Champion, and that was the reason that he put so much money into him, he wanted Lance Stroll to be a world champion but that is not going to happen. Surely the next step is to make Aston Martin World Champions?”
“One day let’s say they have a great car Fernando Alonso wins the Drivers’ World Championship for Aston Martin. Aston Martin still ain’t winning the Constructors’ Championship unless he has a season like Max Verstappen had last year.”
The BBC commentator believes the best avenue for Stroll now would be into the World Endurance Championship. Aston Martin run a team in the series, and may provide an escape route for the maligned Canadian:
“The other thing, which may soften the blow slightly if they want to kind of gently ease your son out of an F1 seat, is they have a rather plumb hypercar seat in the World Endurance Championship, which is coming along nicely. And that is a championship that is about to enter a golden era of racing.”
“Maybe Stroll might end up there, still within the Aston Martin family, still racing and they might word that so it’s his decision to go. But I just don’t think from a business perspective, you can carry on like that.”
Feature Image Credit: Aston Martin F1 Media Centre