The internet is a cruel, cruel place, with the Formula One online community no exception. Several drivers have found themselves going through the wrath of cancel culture, death threats and the harsh words of keyboard warriors protected by a screen. And, once again, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll is in the firing line, after a disastrous Chinese Grand Prix that saw him crash into the back of RB’s Daniel Ricciardo during a Safety Car period. Although a large percentage of people’s comments are uncalled for, are their perceptions right in that Stroll just isn’t good enough for Formula One?
Unfortunately for Lance he is shrouded by the fact that he is hired by his own father, with some under the opinion that “Daddy Stroll” bought the team to keep his son in the sport rather than him earning his place on merit. While this is likely the case, Stroll’s on-track antics have done nothing but keep him constantly under scrutiny and under the watchful eyes of fans and pundits alike. What happened during the Chinese Grand Prix isn’t the first time that Stroll has found himself being criticised and, if anything, has opened a can of worms, with Aston Martin coming under increased pressure to drop the Canadian to benefit themselves in the long run.
But, what actually happened in China that caused Stroll’s rapidly declining reputation to decline even further?
Simply put, it was a standard end to the Safety Car period, with cars bunching up as they entered into the hairpin. But, where everyone else braked, Stroll then accelerated, crashing into Ricciardo’s RB and causing a chain reaction in which saw Ricciardo retire from the race and Oscar Piastri’s McLaren gain performance effected damage. Although a mistake on Stroll’s behalf, it was one mistake drivers racing at this calibre shouldn’t be making.
For Lance, it’s not just the accident which has rubbed people up the wrong way, but his refusal to accept blame for the incident, as well as branding his ten second time penalty “a joke” and even going as far as calling Ricciardo and those ahead “idiots” for bunching up like they did. After the race he said:
“The concertina effect – someone braked at the front of the pack, I don’t know who, and then everyone stopped. The car in front of me stopped from 60 to zero, and boom. A really stupid incident.”
As easy as that is to believe, on board replays have proven that the Aston Martin driver wasn’t exactly concentrating, looking in a different direction to the slow moving RB ahead of him.
“As soon as we start braking, you can see his helmet turn right and he’s looking at the apex at Turn 14. He’s not even watching me and then, when he looks back, he’s in the back of me. So I don’t know what he’s doing, where his head is, but all you have to do is worry about me in that situation – and he clearly wasn’t.” - Daniel Ricciardo
This is just one of several incidents to plague Stroll in his struggling motor racing career. Yes, career. It hasn’t just been in Formula One in which incidents have troubled the young driver. Take European Formula 3 in 2015, where several avoidable incidents led to a race ban for the third race of the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.
Nevertheless, despite his issues and constant speed deficit to teammate Fernando Alonso, Stroll has, at times, shown speed and potential. To date, he has scored three well earned podiums - a 3rd place at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, another 3rd at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, and a final 3rd at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. And, not to forget, his stunning pole position, in the damp conditions, at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix. When his head is in the right place, he can do it. He can do it well.
There is no saying as to why Stroll struggles like he does. And, what seems relatively evident is that his passion for racing is slowly fading. Is it mentally becoming too much for the Aston Martin driver? Is the harsh criticism to blame? With Formula One’s constant growth in popularity and online resources constantly evolving, there seems to be no hiding from scrutiny. Motorsport is a notorious world after all, and mental health isn’t the number one priority.
In no disrespect to Lance, if Aston Martin are serious about moving forward as a team they either need to sort out their driver or get a new one. As always, things are easier said than done. And, until Lance is ready to move on, rumours have circulated that he’d consider a career in tennis, I don’t think he’s going anywhere anytime soon.
I can’t defend Lance for his incident in China. I can’t defend his reaction to it either. But, I do feel for the kid. As established, his whole career has never been easy and the comments he gets on social media can be hard to read. However, right now, his performance doesn’t warrant being an F1 driver and his chances of being champion, ever, are pretty much nada. For his sake, and the sport's sake, I hope he starts to turn things around.
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