F1 cult hero Guenther Steiner has now come in for criticism from Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack over a ‘very unfair’ accusation he directed towards Lance Stroll.
The Canadian is at the end of his eighth season on the grid but has fallen massively from the highs that Stroll achieved last year. Aston Martin starting the 2023 campaign with one of the best cars in the field helped to carry the 26-year-old to his second-best season in F1 to date.
Only in 2020 when Stroll registered P3 finishes in the Italian Grand Prix and the Sakhir Grand Prix has the Montreal native scored more points in a season with 75 than he earned in 2023 with 74. But, before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Stroll has so far scored just 24 points in 2024.
Mike Krack rubbishes Guenther Steiner’s claim Lance Stroll ‘doesn’t want to be an F1 driver’
Stroll arrived at the Yas Marina Circuit for the 2024 season-finale amid his worst run of form in Formula 1 to date. Never before had he failed to score a single point from 10 consecutive Grands Prix, with Stroll last finishing in the top 10 with his P10 in the Hungarian GP this July.
READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Since F1 visited the Hungaroring in round 13 of the season, points narrowly evaded Stroll in the Belgian Grand Prix and the Mexico City Grand Prix when he finished in P11. But he even finished P19 and last on the road in the Italian Grand Prix, plus P15 in Austin and Las Vegas.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
640 |
| 2 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
619 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
581 |
| 4 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
446 |
| 5 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
92 |
| 6 |
Alpine F1 Team |
59 |
Following a disastrous day when Stroll crashed in qualifying for the Sao Paulo GP before also beaching his car in the gravel on the formation lap, Steiner even questioned his desire to be in an F1 car. But Krack has come to his defence, insisting that Stroll is a very dedicated racer.
“When we had the three-week break recently, I had Lance on the phone asking if we could organise some driving somehow in an old car because he wants to drive,” Krack told Crash. “So, that’s the difference.
“It’s a sport with no testing and we have someone who loves driving. It’s very unfair when you read some of the comments and they are often written without much research because it suits the public opinion. Let’s write that and we can fill some lines.
“There is a really skewed picture. You have that in every sport. You have the bad guys, the good guys [and] you have the drawer to fill and Formula 1 is the same.”
Lance Stroll is committed to driving for Aston Martin through at least 2026
Stroll – whose billionaire dad Lawrence Stroll owns the Aston Martin team – left much to be desired at Interlagos after his blunder on the formation lap spurned the work his mechanics did to rebuild the Canadian’s ARM24 after burying it in the barriers in the rain in qualifying.
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Steiner then caused a stir in the Aston Martin fold when the former Haas boss claimed Stroll is only an F1 driver still as ‘daddy’ owns the team. The Italian-American even shared that he ‘never looks happy’, causing Steiner to believe Stroll ‘doesn’t want to’ be a Formula 1 driver.
Yet Krack’s comments show the desire Stroll has to be in F1, having also signed a new multi-year contract back in June that keeps him at Aston Martin into F1’s new regulations in 2026. Failing to score points through the past 10 rounds would also take the smile off Stroll’s face.
