Current Lance Stroll

He only signed for Williams a few days ago but there has already been a large amount of discussion about Lance Stroll. It was suggested he needed his own thread so here it is.

Lance Stroll first came on to my own radar when watching the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand during Jan 2015. Often used as a warm-up for young talent pre-season to get them used to proper car racing its always close racing. Lance was the tender age of 16 and part of the Ferrari young driver program. He was also massively impressive with 10 podiums (4 wins) from 16 races in a car he'd hardly driven and tracks he'd never raced on. He was the eventual champion and I mentally stored him as someone to watch out for. From the Toyota series he went straight into European F3 for the 2015 series and unfortunately I felt like he was dwarfed somewhat by the rest of the field who had more experience than him. He was going up against the likes of Felix Rosenquist, Antonio Giovanazzi and Charles LeClerc who were all older and looked far more impressive. Looking back on it though he didn't actually do too bad. One win, 4 podiums and 5th in the championship is not bad for a 16 year old, also if you look at his results he got stronger and stronger as the season went on which was a sure sign he was learning.

2016 saw Lance take it up a step, he has clearly been dominant in the F3 series and has 14 wins and the title with the series not even being finished yet. It was during this year that I learned something new about Lance. I learnt his father was a billionaire. Why did I learn this? Well he was suddenly being connected to the Williams F1 race seat, apparently due to his father investing heavily in the team. This appears to have been met with considerable vitriol from some quarters who are suggesting he is buying his way into F1 and doesn't deserve the seat. Stroll turned 18 on the 28th October which meant the Martini sponsored Williams team could finally announce him as a driver and within days there were already people writing about nepotism and putting $ in the spelling of his name. All this before he's even turned a wheel. Its a bit of a shame really that a driver who has been so utterly dominant of a highly rated junior series should be labelled a 'pay-driver'. The same people have probably spent the last few years moaning about Williams conservative driver choice in the form of Massa, so you think the promotion of an 18 year old F3 champion would be warmly welcomed.

On the driving front its really hard to know what to expect from Stroll in 2017 due to the fact that we have no idea where the Williams car will be. I have a horrible feeling that Williams are a team in decline and that Stroll is going to suffer for it. I also don't think he'll be quick straight out of the blocks either, which might give the haters an excuse. Stroll's pattern over the last two years is to be paired with a more experienced team mate and gradually learn the ropes and start to shine later in the year. I expect this to be repeated and for him to be out done by Bottas until at least the summer break. I wouldn't be surprised to see him start to get on level terms from then on it. Lets face it, Bottas comes highly rated so if he starts to beat him he's going to gain some kudos.

Lastly I think its great for F1 to have a Canadian back on the grid (Robert Wickens should have got a seat a while back by the way) as its a country that loves the sport and it'll be great for them to have someone to cheer on.
 
While many seem to think Stroll as accident-prone, he has actually done quite a reliable job. No session-ending crash since Monaco practice last year as far as I can recall.
 
Those in chat yesterday will know I promised a rant about Lance. So, here it is.

Sky sent Rachel Brookes to go off and have a chat with Captain Eyebrows. What a spoiled, ungrateful little brat Lance is. As far as I can work out he has a seat in a Formula One team simply because his Daddy is mega rich, has paid for him to race in lower formulea and has now bought his little darling a seat in an F1 team. Now I know Lance has won races and championships in the lower classes but I do not believe, in any way shape or form, that he has arrived in F1 simply based on his own talent. In fact I think nothing could be further from the truth based on his performances.

So Lance please stop pouting, critisicing the team, bleating about how hard it all is and realise that you are living the dream of thousands of people on the back of a rich father rather than any natural talent on part, you ungrateful little oik. And also recognise that there are numerous young drivers with significantly more talent but less money than you who would do a much better job in the current Williams and do it with a smile on their face.
 
I'm not a fan of how the blue flags work in F1, I'd far prefer it if they made it like WEC, so it was the passing drivers job to pass safely and the lapped car didn't have to jump out of the way...
 
sobriety Which means you'll have at least one idiot being a mobile chicane trying to ruin people's races which he has no right to

I remember some drivers would not move out of the way for 3 laps or more which is something like 10-15 seconds

This is why the blue flag system was introduced
 
I'm on the sobriety line here with perhaps a thought or two which might address your point Il_leone, perhaps in the DRS zone a back-marker must move off the racing line and (if within 1 second of the driver in front of them) is not permitted to use DRS.
 
Its more the fact that he was not tested at the time was the issue as Doctors advice was it was not necessary but Sunday on the day of the race was 5 days after his last test

So he followed FIA protocol
 
Last edited:
it was very lucky, that stroll couldnt get off the toilet to get into the paddock, otherwise we couldve been in trouble. but now at least theyve changed the protocol, but the worrying part is also stroll snr also tested postive, now cant remember if he was in paddock
 
The rest of the paddock are not happy with Racing Points's handling if the situation.

Who was the doctor that advised them not to test? Dr Dre, Dr Seuss , Dr Mallya ? as Zac Brown said

Stroll had a weekend to forget- he did not make Q2. He could not overtake without checking his mirrors , he exceeding track limits and for that he got 3 penalty points. Its 4 races since he last scored and off course his seat is under no threat
 
Back
Top Bottom