Opinion: Lance Stroll Too Slow For Racing Point?

[Matthew327]

I voted Yes, even though I think Lance is a rather solid racing driver. He doesn't have what it takes to win in F1 - aside from an utterly bonkers Azerbaijan GP that is - but I am certain he is championship material in many other series and probably has a few titles ahead of him in Endurance/GT racing once he leaves F1.

However, I think our judgment of Stroll is often too harsh. We should not forget that he was on par with Felipe Massa (albeit in the latter's final F1 season) in 2017, and outperformed Sergey Sirotkin in 2018 (even though I still hold the Russian in high regard, and last year's Williams was almost as much of a desaster as this year's is).

We also should not forget that he's up against one of the most underrated F1 drivers of this millennium so far, second only perhaps to Nico Hülkenberg. Perez, had he made the right contract calls in his earlier career, would be a multiple GP winner and probably F1 champion. He's capable of producing outstanding races, so him outperforming Stroll by a considerable margin should come as no surprise.

Naturally, when we think of Racing Point and Lance Stroll, we also think of the stellar talent that is Esteban Ocon who missed out on a drive thanks to Daddy Stroll this year. Against such opposition as Perez and Ocon, it's hard to argue that Stroll Jr. really deserves his F1 seat. But let's not forget: He is a Formula 4 and Formula 3 champion, and in F3 beat such formidable drivers as George Russell, Callum Ilott and Anthoine Hubert (who just won in Monaco, so certainly is no slouch either).

 

[UMC 22]

I agree with everything you have said. However, daddy owning a team is keeping a ton of people in jobs. Yeah you could argue that someone else will fund the team but right now he's paying the bills so surely we can give him the privilege of giving his boy a drive?

Nope, I don't agree with that, nor do I agree with the whole concept of pay drivers. Yes, I know it's a fact of the sport and is very unlikely to change anytime soon (or ever), but it's not good for the sport and I don't like it. A dad owning a team and giving one of the cars to his less-than-qualified son just takes it to a whole new level in my view. Yet another fine example of how privilege and money triumphs over talent, something which is a sad fact of life but shouldn't be. But I'm not under any illusion that we live in a perfect world, or that we ever will.

 

[eg01st]

Next poll - "Is Mercedes too fast for F1?"

 

[Cote Dazur]

This poll result does more to show what a special bunch people on this forum are more than anything else.
Stroll is a fast driver, he deserve his seat.
At this point he needs support, not blind criticism and increase pressure that will only leads to more mistakes. I hope he finds in himself the strength to keep going strong.

 

[Lino Carreira]

Everyone likes to pick on him because, his dad is filthy rich, guess what, some rich people are also talented, he won by miles every class he was in before F1. i know a driver coach that worked with him that eard the following words from him when he seated on the force india and went for a lap for the first time:

- "Oh, so this is what a formula 1 car is....." , that sentence alone may explain last years performance therefore in my mind hes an F1 rookie this year

 

[gamer19]

Lol on this poll, after today's results.

 

[Jason Mullin]

I don't dislike people with money, I dislike the entitled attitude that comes with them.
You're seat was bought for you, okay fine but get out there and put some numbers on the board or hand the wheel to someone else.
I'm sure Dad wants to see him succeed, but dad also has a vested interest in the team, as do the dozens of team members.

I've got nothing against gentleman drivers, found watching Ed Brown (Patron CEO) LMP racing very good.
Just get out there and push harder everyday.

 

[paracletus]

Podium before, remember.
Not tier 1 talent but not worse than Joe Vinazi, one could say.

 

[Nevini]

So many bitter people, give the man a chance. he is way better than most of you.

 

[MoerasGrizzly]

He was beaten by George Russel today, who was driving the objectively worst car on the grid.
That says enough for me.

So many bitter people, give the man a chance. he is way better than most of you.

The question for me, and I suspect for a lot of people, is not about whether or not Lance Stroll is good. It's whether or not he's good enough compared to the drivers who could have his seat, like Ocon or Russel.

 

[Enerjex]

He definitely lacks situational awareness, crucial in the pinnacle of motorsport. We saw this again at Monaco, he just doesn't seem to have any idea of what is happening in his blind spots.

To be clear, F1 is supposed to have the best drivers in the world, not the richest Dads in the world.

 

[F1Aussie]

Not just too slow for racing point but too slow for F1.

 

[cmtr]

He's not the best on the grid, but at least he's somewhere in the midfield like the other pay drivers with rich daddies, Norris and Perez.

 

[Antony Snook]

As a Canadian i can honestly say he is not slow. But he has had a lot of accidents that he is being blamed for. Making other drivers steer clear of him. His father can buy him a race seat but he can not buy skill and defensive driving skills, needed in F1. He must nurture this or he will be gone to another under funded team.

 

[John-Eric Saxén]

As a Canadian i can honestly say he is not slow. But he has had a lot of accidents that he is being blamed for. Making other drivers steer clear of him. His father can buy him a race seat but he can not buy skill and defensive driving skills, needed in F1. He must nurture this or he will be gone to another under funded team.

I'd argue the opposite. Stroll has been involved in very few accidents unless we just look at the last two races. Verstappen has been far more accident prone and Stroll has actually brought the car to finish with rather mature drives. IMO the biggest issue with Stroll is his quali pace or lack thereof. Granted, he is only a few tenths behind Perez now, but few tenths with an easy to drive modern F1 car is a large gap and Perez is considered a better racer than qualifier.

 

[Antony Snook]

He definitely lacks situational awareness, crucial in the pinnacle of motorsport. We saw this again at Monaco, he just doesn't seem to have any idea of what is happening in his blind spots.

To be clear, F1 is supposed to have the best drivers in the world, not the richest Dads in the world.

I am not shore what the F1 drivers see in the mirrors at all. Liberty Medea should send a a demo car out with a go pro on the drivers helmet to see a true drivers perspective that you cant get with a simple on board looking over the Halo. TV gives a 3D image that the drivers don't have.

 

[dud]

I actually think that being in the same team that his father is involved in might be a problem. He seems to be doing better when he was independent from him.

 

[bluepeter]

I agree with everything you have said. However, daddy owning a team is keeping a ton of people in jobs. Yeah you could argue that someone else will fund the team but right now he's paying the bills so surely we can give him the privilege of giving his boy a drive?

I know if I had the money I wouldn't think twice about getting my son in a seat.

He who pays the piper calls the tune, as they say...… and rightly so.

 

[gamer19]

Lol on this poll, after today's results.

Yeah mate, I agree with you.
In Monaco he qualified behind his team mate yet he finishes in front of him, here in Canada he qualifies even more behind him yet once again - he beats him fair and square.
A week after week this boys delivers and here we have this topic. Still. Silly.
I bet only his money is the cause for a problem. Regular people just don't like the rich.
Something I had to learn to live with...