Lance Stroll Thinks He̵7;s Finally driving A car that can compete with the best on home soil.
The 24-year-old from Montreal heads this Sunday Canadian Grand Prix driving for one Aston Martin team in third place formula One the constructors’ standings and was seen as the second best team this year behind Red Bull.
“Yeah, it definitely is,” said Stroll when asked if it was his first time driving a nice car in Montreal. “Definitely a few more opportunities this year than other years.”
In four Canadian GPs, Stroll’s best result is ninth place (2017, 2019). He is off to the best start of his career this year, currently ranked eighth on the drivers’ list.
Despite that, and despite the quality of his car, Stroll has yet to prove that he can drive it to its full potential. Meanwhile, teammate Fernando Alonso.
The 41-year-old veteran and two-time world champion is making a career resurgence in his first season with Aston Martin, trailing Stroll five podiums to zero and 99 points to 35.
Alonso is third in the drivers’ standings behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez, and his success is putting extra pressure on Stroll to get the results.
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krauk said he was confident they would come.
Krack, noting the mistake made by the team in Miami and some damage to the vehicle in Monaco, said, “Well, first of all, he needs a little more luck, which he didn’t have.” “We have a car that can do it, and it will do it. So I think if the car is there it will be there.
Krack also believes that Stroll doesn’t get enough credit for coming back so quickly from injury earlier this season and making the best of a bad situation.
Stroll missed pre-season testing after crashing his bike and fracturing both his wrists during training in Spain on 18 February. However, he recovered in time to race in the season opener in Bahrain.
“I think it showed a side of Lance that probably wasn’t known. He’s a fantastic fighter,” Krack said. “It would have been easier to say ‘I’ll wait three races, I’ll get everything back, and I’ll be back. Will come,’? The fact that he tried really hard to get back in the car despite all the pain, and I can assure you he had a lot of pain, shows what kind of a fighter he is.
“I’m not sure if we know what kind of performance that was? I think that’s a lot of credit to him for bringing home these (early) races despite those injuries.
Alonso echoed that sentiment, adding that Stroll’s commitment to return reflects his passion for the sport.
Race fans walk through the pit lane during the open house at the Canadian Grand Prix on Thursday, June 15, 2023, in Montreal. Formula One is back in Canada for the second year in a row as the Canadian Grand Prix gets underway in Montreal this week. The Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz.
The Spaniard said the next step in his teammate’s career is improving his consistency.
“I think Lance is showing pace in the car,” he said. “I think we’ve seen Lance spark a few times in the past in qualifying and races and then some other weekends maybe the result wasn’t coming or you got bad luck.
“But like I said, with the motivation, the commitment to the team that Aston Martin is building now. I think it’s just a matter of time.”
Although Stroll and Alonso are far apart in the standings, both drivers seem relatively close to the track. Their relationship dates back to 2012 when then Ferrari driver Alonso met Stroll at an event in Montreal where he was at the academy.
Krack says the two drivers help each other, whether communicating over the radio or in debriefing sessions, to better understand the car.
“They try to encourage each other,” he said. “It’s a level of maturity between these two drivers that I haven’t seen many times in my entire career with racing drivers because they are usually very selfish.”
Stroll, who says he still feels some pain from his pre-season injury, beat Alonso for the first time this season to come sixth at the Spanish grand prix.
Now he will try to carry on that result and do something special in Montreal, where no Canadian has won since Gilles Villeneuve in 1978.
“It’s a race that I have a lot of memories, I have a lot of memories coming here when I was a kid watching (Michael) Schumacher and even Fernando,” Stroll said. Said.
“It will be very special (to reach the podium). Dream come true.”
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