Stroll deserves his seat in F1
On paper, the Canadian driver is this weekend's local hero, but he's not exactly highly regarded in the world of Formula 1, chiefly because he's tarnished with the accusation of nepotism. The first fact that comes to mind about Lance Stroll is that he owes his place as one of the twenty elite at motor racing's top table to the fact that his father Lawrence owns the team, not to mention James Bond's favourite car brand, Aston Martin and its state of-the-art factory. Being the son of a multi-billionaire doesn't exactly endear you to the masses, even less so when it comes to sport and a very expensive one at that in the case of motor racing. However, the 25 year old, who grew up a few kilometres from the circuit where he races in the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, has demonstrated that, whether one likes it or not, he deserves his seat in Formula 1.
Many drivers have bought their way into Formula 1, but very few have managed to take part in 151 Grands Prix. Of the Canadians only Jacques Villeneuve has more starts to his name with 163, a figure which Lance should exceed by the end of this season and with 279 in the bag, Stroll has scored more than any other driver from his country.
He has finished on the podium three times (Baku 2017, Monza and Sakhir 2020), he started from pole just the once in Istanbul in 2020 and has always worked hard to prove his detractors wrong, focusing on his driving, demonstrating his competitive spirit, but only occasionally producing exceptional results.
However, his rookie days, the learning phase of his career as a racing driver, are behind him and now's the time for Lance to decide what he will do during his adult years and more importantly, what he would like to do. Because strange as it may seem, one gets the impression that Stroll, who has been in this sport for eight years now, doesn't really enjoy life in Formula 1 that much. He is a shy lad and that can sometimes come across as arrogance and he does not have a great relationship with the press and the world of social media, but it's a question that needs to be asked, first and foremost by the man himself.
“I like to see myself performing super well,” he told motorsport.com a few days ago. “I'm the first person that's hard on myself on a day when things don't go well and I'm still excited and happy as ever when I have a great day, since the last seven, eight years that I've been in Formula 1. That feeling is still driving me to keep pushing, to keep going and yes, I hate having bad days, just like I'm sure everyone does in this paddock, absolutely.”
It sounds as though Lance does want to stay in Formula 1 for now, even though he could do whatever takes his fancy. His place in the team is never really in danger, which is no doubt an advantage, but not having to fear losing one's seat can also be a double-edged sword. The important thing is that he enjoys it for himself and is not just doing it to please others.
