For rookie Stroll, it’s been a tough start in F1 world
Critics claim his father’s wealth fuelled his speedy rise into top racing levels
After a rocky start and lacklustre results in his first six races, the crescendo of criticism about Lance Stroll’s accelerated arrival in Formula One continues to grow.
The 18-year-old joined the legendary Williams outfit this year after winning the 2016 FIA European Formula 3 Championship, a jump of three rungs up the development ladder, and a huge step for any driver.
His inability to come to grips with the 2017 Formula One car has only emboldened critics who felt Stroll won the Williams drive more because of his fashion billionaire father’s bankroll than his talent. His father, Lawrence Stroll, made his fortune in the fashion industry, first with the Tommy Hilfiger brand before taking Michael Kors public in 2011. Forbes Magazine puts his net worth at around $2.6 billion.
With questions about his family money swirling, the last thing Lance Stroll could afford was a difficult debut. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened: He has no points in six starts with four retirements and a best result of 11th.
The troubles began early for Stroll, who had several incidents as he drove the 2017 F1 car for the first time in pre-season testing. Those troubles continued at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, where an accident in the third practice session required huge repairs and only made his F1 race debut more difficult. He qualified 19th of 20 cars, but started dead last due to a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change after his crash. He retired after 40 of 57 laps with overheating brakes.
The next Grand Prix in China began well with Stroll qualifying 10th, but then his race lasted only a few corners as Stroll tangled with the Force India of Sergio Perez on the opening lap and retired. The accident was judged to be a “racing incident.” Race 3 in Bahrain was a repeat of the previous one, with Stroll qualifying well in 12th, but it was all for naught when he was taken out early by the Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz, who exited the pits right into the Williams’ path. Sainz was given a penalty for causing a collision.
Stroll bounced back and turned in a solid performance in Russia, starting 12th again and crossing the line 11th, his best result so far. The next two races — Spain and Monaco — saw Stroll start 18th and not really be a factor. He ended the Spanish Grand Prix 16th and was classified 15th in Monte Carlo despite retiring with more brake issues with seven laps left.
Acknowledging that the needed results aren’t coming for Stroll, Williams Racing deputy principal Clare Williams urged patience.
“It’s really hard to make that transition from any junior formula up into Formula One,” she told Sky Sports during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend last month.
“I think people can really underestimate that and also the pressure that these guys put themselves under. We are a team that has been racing for 40 years, we know how to do this, and we know how to nurture young talent and that’s what we are doing with him.”
When Stroll signed with Williams, many questioned the wisdom of throwing an 18-year-old into F1, especially when his family fortune gave him the luxury of time. Many argued that Stroll could have spent another year or two developing his talent in lower categories and maturing as a driver before taking the Grand Prix plunge.
That wasn’t the path taken by the teenager from Montreal and many continue to second-guess the decision.
“It is too early,” tweeted Mark Gallagher, former F1 team executive turned commentator and author of The Business of Winning: Strategic Success from the Formula One Track to the Boardroom.
“Odd: His father understands that you need time to build a business. Same applies to careers; but the dollars will sustain it.”
Yes, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen became a mega star at the same age, but he’s the kind of a talent that only comes along once in a decade or so. In 2015, the then 17-year-old Dutchman became the youngest driver in history to start a grand prix. Last year, his Spanish Grand Prix victory made him F1’s youngest race winner.
Along with Verstappen, only two other drivers who have joined F1 as teenagers and gone on to win a Grand Prix: Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, who have six world championships between them.
In F1, the real measure of any driver’s performance is his teammate, and in that area Stroll hasn’t fared well. He’s been out-qualified by his veteran teammate, Felipe Massa, on every weekend — usually by a wide margin — and outpaced badly in races. Massa has four top-10 finishes and 20 championship points to Stroll’s zero on both accounts.
In addition, the veteran Brazilian is thought to be about 0.3 seconds off the pace of the top drivers, so when Stroll is 1.1 seconds per lap slower than Massa in qualifying as he was in Monaco two weeks ago, that means he’s somewhere around 1.4 seconds per lap away from matching the performance of an elite F1 talent.
“Massa is driving beautifully, but it’s not exactly like trying to beat Fernando Alonso,” said former F1 driver turned television commentator Martin Brundle during the Spanish Grand Prix.
“He (Stroll) is over-aggressive behind the wheel; he’s got to find a way to release speed from a Formula One car. I think it’s been an okay start for Lance, but I don’t think we’ve seen the progress he needs to be showing.”
Unfortunately, Stroll faces another hurdle as tries to silence his detractors: The highly influential and often ruthlessly critical F1 media seem to have already written him off.
After a practice accident in Monaco two weeks ago, Stroll caught the ire of a few F1 journalists by saying he kept making the same mistake on his PlayStation. That comment had a Telegraph newspaper story assert that “few in Formula One have encapsulated the callowness of youth as memorably as Lance Stroll,” before going on to compare him with crash-prone driver Pastor Maldonado who nabbed a Williams seat a few years ago on the strength of $40-million annual backing from the Venezuelan government.
While some have begun to insist that Stroll’s days in F1 may be numbered, his team isn’t about to throw in the towel. His Williams boss believes all Stroll needs is a bit of confidence to turn things around.
“I think we all know now that he’s fully capable of doing and once he has that pressure ease off him a bit, I think he will go great guns,” Williams said.
“I think Lance is a pretty determined young character.”