Lance & Aston Martin

[Crudeoink]

Surely some very difficult decisions to be made at Aston Martin, at least by Lawrence. Alonso is showing what the car can really do and simultaneously showing Aston if they want to be really competitive they may need to drop Lance for someone quicker and more consistent? Fernando has over 3x the points of Stroll now, and with Merc just 1 point behind Aston in the constructors, a loss of 2nd place due to Lance not performing well would be a real kick to their winnings. What do we think ? Aston to drop Lance end of '24 if performance doesn't improve, or Lawrence to dodge the issue and flog the team instead?

[Evercross]

There is a bigger chance of me driving for Ferrari next year (and my name is neither LeClerc or Sainz, or Hamilton for that matter), than Stroll jnr being dropped by Aston Martin. It is his personal toy-box and daddy will swallow the losses.

[C5_Steve]

Let's be honest, Lance was just as bad last year but in a much worse car. His lack of talent was apparent. He's shown this year that although the car is important to overall performance, the nut behind the wheel makes all the difference.

I can't see him going anywhere, he's not the only pay-to-drive driver in the sport so it's no worse than some of the others taking up a seat. His lack of performance isn't hurting the team from a marketing perspective and whilst it may be costing them a place in the constructors championship I think Lawrence is more interested in the effect the F1 team has on the brand overall. He's getting the desired exposure from Alonso.

[StevieBee]

....and good but subservient number two drivers are as rare as the proverbial rocking horse poo.

Alonso has form for getting all mopey when a team mate get's too close to his times so whilst someone like Danny Ricciardo may prove a better bet that Lance, I think the team harmony would be a thing of the past.

[Crudeoink]

C5_Steve said:

Let's be honest, Lance was just as bad last year but in a much worse car. His lack of talent was apparent. He's shown this year that although the car is important to overall performance, the nut behind the wheel makes all the difference.

I can't see him going anywhere, he's not the only pay-to-drive driver in the sport so it's no worse than some of the others taking up a seat. His lack of performance isn't hurting the team from a marketing perspective and whilst it may be costing them a place in the constructors championship I think Lawrence is more interested in the effect the F1 team has on the brand overall. He's getting the desired exposure from Alonso.

Prize pot difference between 2nd and 3rd has got to be around $50M surely? As far as I'm aware the money to buy Aston Martin and Racing Point came from a consortium of investors and not solely Stroll money ? I'd be wanting answers if the driver choice pointed towards a loss in the 10's of millions

[Muzzer79]

Crudeoink said:

Surely some very difficult decisions to be made at Aston Martin, at least by Lawrence. Alonso is showing what the car can really do and simultaneously showing Aston if they want to be really competitive they may need to drop Lance for someone quicker and more consistent? Fernando has over 3x the points of Stroll now, and with Merc just 1 point behind Aston in the constructors, a loss of 2nd place due to Lance not performing well would be a real kick to their winnings. What do we think ? Aston to drop Lance end of '24 if performance doesn't improve, or Lawrence to dodge the issue and flog the team instead?

Lance isn't going anywhere

The F1 team is a vehicle (literally) for his career so they'll just chalk it up to a bad year and carry on

Everyone in the team will know this, it's accepted that if the son of the boss is driving, the boss isn't going to drop him.

The only possible exception would be if they got to be challenging for the WCC and needed the points for that, but even then I can't see it.

[Presuming Ed]

With the cost cap now in place I imagine the investors have on paper already made a significant return on investment. Stroll was made to look amateur this weekend admittedly but he has form of putting in some great results every now and again. He might not be an Alonso but he is far from the worst to be in F1.

[maz8062]

If it ain’t broke….

Lance, amongst other things, motivates dad who motivates others and moves the team forward. Get rid of Lance and it becomes a job, an investment, no longer motivated by the best for his kid. Yes Lance is not the best, but he’s not the worst either.

[entropy]

Presuming Ed said:

With the cost cap now in place I imagine the investors have on paper already made a significant return on investment. Stroll was made to look amateur this weekend admittedly but he has form of putting in some great results every now and again. He might not be an Alonso but he is far from the worst to be in F1.

I like Lance he's a decent driver but he's not he's not good enough as a number 2 driver for a top team. Where AM are at now they're too reliant on Alonso. Sooner or later the Mercs will be all over the Spaniard like a rash and with Ferrari in the mix for the fight for P2 in WCC. There will be people in AM thinking the same but will they dare tell it straight to Larry? I suspect Larry will hear none of it.

[InformationSuperHighway]

StevieBee said:

....and good but subservient number two drivers are as rare as the proverbial rocking horse poo.

Alonso has form for getting all mopey when a team mate get's too close to his times so whilst someone like Danny Ricciardo may prove a better bet that Lance, I think the team harmony would be a thing of the past.

I think this is the main reason. They'd never keep (Or even secured?) Alonso if it wasn't for Lance.

Alonso gets all the headlines, the glory and kudos while also gets to play the racing father figure to a young gun.

Keeps Alonso top dog.

[gt_12345]

Presume today's Aston/Chinese news only affects the road company, not F1?

[suffolk009]

Alonso isn't challenged by Lance. So they can both be happy in the same team. In fact Lance may turn out to be Alsonso's perfect team mate.

[gt_12345]

maz8062 said:

If it ain’t broke….

Lance, amongst other things, motivates dad who motivates others and moves the team forward. Get rid of Lance and it becomes a job, an investment, no longer motivated by the best for his kid. Yes Lance is not the best, but he’s not the worst either.

This

Aston's long term future depends on Lance remaining.

[Sandpit Steve]

Crudeoink said:

Prize pot difference between 2nd and 3rd has got to be around $50M surely? As far as I'm aware the money to buy Aston Martin and Racing Point came from a consortium of investors and not solely Stroll money ? I'd be wanting answers if the driver choice pointed towards a loss in the 10's of millions

It’s not too much of a problem when you’re fighting for 5th in the championship, but when you’re fighting for second it makes a massive difference.

Right now there’s 19 pro drivers and one pay driver in F1, and it’s screwing them out of millions in prize money. Mercedes are so far coping with two bears in one cave, and the upgrades could have them picking up a lot of podium finishes in the next few races. If Ferrari can eventually get their act together, AM might even end up 4th when they could be second.

There’s a handful of B-list pro drivers without a seat, who could do better without treading on Alonso’s toes. Look around the reserve driver lists. Yes, the other investors are right to be nervous.

[kevinon]

It's a bizarre situation when motorsport's top echelon is comfortable with product placement like this. Daddy's boy or daddy's husband being given a seat in a sport kinda trashes the romance of the competitivce pyramid being based on talent alone.

I watched the same happen in boxing; where post after the 70's you'd wonder if the men competing for the Championship of the World were actually just elevated by moneymen, not by their talent.

'best driver in a team funded by Daddy' sound like an entertainment award, not a sports one.

Sorry to be uncle Grumps !


edit - 'second best driver in a team funded by Daddy

[gt_12345]

Sandpit Steve said:

There’s a handful of B-list pro drivers without a seat, who could do better without treading on Alonso’s toes. Look around the reserve driver lists. Yes, the other investors are right to be nervous.

Callum Ilott never stood a chance with Mazepin, Latiffi, Stroll, Tsunoda etc.

Should up the superlicence requirements

Or

Existing F1 drivers cannot finish 20th every year and continue

[rdjohn]

Evercross said:

There is a bigger chance of me driving for Ferrari next year (and my name is neither LeClerc or Sainz, or Hamilton for that matter), than Stroll jnr being dropped by Aston Martin. It is his personal toy-box and daddy will swallow the losses.

I can see that dad may already have his exit strategy planned for 2026. I cannot seeing him fretting if Mercedes pass them in the WDC this year. Sweet FA, is doing everything that he needs right now. Not losing his shirt on the car-company must be a much bigger challenge, but he has spread the risk nicely.

Hats off, he has done an incredible job this year. Only somewhere like Monaco really shows the limits of Lance. At most circuits he can claw back positions lost in qually during the race.

[Fundoreen]

He seems to have dropped off a bit. If anyone remembers he was quite good in wet conditions. I guess its that difficult transition in conditions he has no experience of.
Not really much worse than the rest that kept crashing into people in the race. Serge in the best car still made a mighty mess of it all.
He needs to stop listening to some people that must be in his ear pre race weekends.
In Lance's case it might be he knows he wont be sacked so he's not fully engaged over the weekend and the pressure is off as his team mate does all the work!
Bit like any rich kid at the family firm lol. Throw in the saudi sponsors and its a recipe for nepotistic disaster...
I would think they must have a long term plan to call the team Stramco or something so he may as well stick around.
Should be better at the spanish f1 race as they all know that place. Maybe he can crash into max to help the team out lol.

[RobGT81]

Has Stroll dropped off or is Alonso just that much better?

[Megaflow]

The driver’s championship standings certainly make interesting reading, the mostly 2x2 nature suggests the order is largely dictated by car and team performance over a race weekend.

There is one glaring exception to that…