Aston Martin F1 team principal Mike Clack says Lance Stroll is hugely underrated and deserves more than he gets.
Lance Stroll will partner Fernando Alonso in Aston Martin F1 in 2023, but Stroll’s position in the team is on an uncertain long-term deal, so there is no doubt about it.
Lance Stroll, who has scored just four points in 13 races in 2022 and sits 18th in the drivers’ championship, has had a season to forget so far.
Lance Stroll hasn’t had much of an eye-catching run this year, but Aston Martin F1 team principal Mike Clack believes Stroll is hugely underrated as a driver, and he’s underrated within the team. He said he deserved the position.
Lance Stroll’s doubts as an F1 driver stem from the fact that his father, Lawrence Stroll, is the owner of the team and his son Lance has secured his seat since he bought the former Force India team. ing.
“It’s very difficult to say,” Mike Clack said on the Beyond the Grid podcast when asked where he thought Lance Stroll would be in the drivers’ pecking order.
“Let’s not forget, Lance has never had a winning car in his career.”
Mike Clack gave an example of Stroll’s incredible performance in tricky conditions. For example, the pole position at the F1 Turkey GP, where the 2020 qualifying was held in wet conditions, is famous.
“He’s done extraordinary things when the conditions allow it, like in the wet Istanbul,” said Mike Clack.
“For me, Lance is one of the most underrated drivers. He’s a lot better than people think. He also works a lot harder than people think.”
“He fits in very well. He’s also a very polite person, but a lot of people don’t know about it because they don’t spend or invest the time to get to know him.”
“It’s easy to put someone like that in a drawer and say, ‘This is the person who’s there because the father allowed it.’ And that’s not true.”
“He’s a very good driver and I think you can see that in difficult conditions. In difficult conditions you really see who’s better and who’s not so strong.”
“It’s interesting that Lance is always there when it rains. This shows that we need to look a little deeper than just saying ‘Why is he there…'” “
Four-time former F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel will end his F1 career with Aston Martin at the end of the 2022 season, but his partnership with Lance Stroll over the past two seasons is a way to perform at a higher level. has opened Stroll’s eyes, says Mike Clack.
“I think Vettel helped him a lot. I think this is the first time Stroll has had multiple world champion winners next to him,” said Mike Clack.
“He sees how Sebastian approaches, how he makes comments. When Sebastian speaks, Lance listens.”
“But he also asks questions because he wants to learn from what Sebastian is saying. He asks ‘What do you mean?’ or ‘Does this and this feeling have you?’ ing”
“So I think he benefits from that. From that perspective, I think that’s why not only is Sebastian in car number 5, but he’s an asset to the team and to Lance.”
Category: F1 / aston martin / Lance Stroll