F1 fans fume as 'worst driver on the grid' Lance Stroll signs long-term contract with Aston Martin

06/27/2024 06:59 AM

Lance Stroll has signed a new contract that will keep him at Aston Martin for 2025 and beyond – and Formula 1 fans are not happy.

The Canadian driver his driven for the British team since 2020 when they were known as Racing Point – but only got the seat because his father Lawrence Stroll is the owner.

Stroll made his debut in 2017 with Williams, becoming the second-youngest racer in F1 history after Max Verstappen, and has occasionally shown flashes of greatness.

He has three podiums and one pole position to his name, but it has long been clear that the 25-year-old is nowhere near as good as his compatriots on the grid, with fans and pundits acknowledging that he has only kept his seat because of his Dad.

This was made abundantly clear last season when teammate Fernando Alonso finished fourth in the standings on 206 points while Stroll laboured to 10th with 74 points, with his poor performances dragging Aston Martin down to fifth in the constructors’ table.

On Thursday ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, it was announced, to no great surprise, that Stroll would be sticking around for a few more years at least, but it’s clear that some fans have had enough.

‘Well done. You've just guaranteed that you won't win a championship anytime soon. Congratulations. Bold strategy,’ Phillip Applegarth wrote on Twitter.

‘I genuinely struggle to see how Aston Martin position themselves as wanting to be a winning team, yet keep Stroll in. Yes, I know, his Dad owns the team, but at what point are constructors points etc not more important,’ Nick Parker fumed.

Morgan Moore posted: ‘Worst driver on the grid. Him pushing that assistant was the last straw for me. Horrible man.’

‘Surprise!!! Totally untalented driver will keep on racing in daddy’s team amid his decline in respect and skill!’ @feroefe64 said.

Jutta Wilding said: ‘No other driver would get a contract extension with so little performance,’ while @davide_b88 added: ‘Every other F1 team is happy about this.’

Pay drivers are of course nothing new in F1, but with Stroll snr. determined to transform Aston Martin into a championship winner, he could do a lot, lot better than re-hiring his underperforming son who has scored just a third of Alonso’s points tally so far in 2024.

@CambeltF1 mused: ‘This team has so much potential but until they drop all the baggage they are carrying its never going to progress. Team has a good chance in 2026 of doing something with Alonso if they get it all right. Teams championship not so much now.’

@NoguiNSFM fumed: [Felipe] Drugovich is crying in this exact moment. That's ridiculous,’ with @king_despi adding: ‘I'd take Carlos [Sainz] and Fernando. Or even beg Seb [Vettel] to come back.’

Stroll wasn’t the only driver on Thursday to receive a new contract, with Pierre Gasly penning a new multi-year deal with Alpine.

British teenager Oliver Bearman is also set to join the grid in 2025 with Haas, with the official announcement reportedly set to be made at the British Grand Prix next weekend.