Lance Stroll has stayed put for the seventh straight season. He joined the Racing Point team back in 2019, and they became Aston Martin two years later.
While the team has undergone a substantial change in branding, it remains fundamentally the same. And that makes Stroll the joint-2nd longest-serving driver on the grid (behind Max Verstappen).
Stroll’s father, the billionaire fashion mogul Lawrence, owns the team. He handed his son a new multi-year contract last year as he approached the end of his deal.
| RANK | DRIVER(S) | TEAM | JOINED |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 2016 |
| =2 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 2019 |
| =2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 2019 |
| =2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 2019 |
| 5 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | 2021 |
The Canadian driver finished 13th in the championship, having scored just 34.3% of Fernando Alonso’s points (24 vs 70). His final top-10 finish of the season came at the Hungarian Grand Prix – before the summer break.
But many feel Stroll is insulated from the consequences of his inconsistency. While his father is still in place, there doesn’t appear to be any real risk that he loses his seat.
Stroll will reach 200 F1 starts during the 2026 season. To date, he’s scored 292 points and three podiums.
Aston Martin boss believes they can win the title – incredulous fans make Lance Stroll point
The Aston Martin team are incredibly ambitious. They may have finished fifth in the 2024 standings – the leader of the midfield pack behind the dominant top four – but they want to become a contender in the medium term.
That’s why Stroll Sr moved for Adrian Newey, perhaps the most celebrated designer in F1 history, and former Mercedes engine guru Andy Cowell. Cowell recently appointed himself as the team principal at Silverstone.
However, some F1 fans feel the team’s insistence on keeping Stroll – a driver who has had more bad days than good – is at odds with their ambition. Speaking in the factory last year, as revealed by the BBC’s ‘F1: Back At Base’ series, Cowell asked ‘why can’t we’ win the title in 2025.
“Look what McLaren did,” he said, referencing their constructors’ triumph as a Mercedes customer. That’s the standard they can theoretically reach.
In response to Cowell’s ‘why can’t we’ question, one fan wrote ‘because Lance Stroll is in the second seat’. Another said ‘Lance Stroll is the answer’, while a third simply added ‘Lance Stroll, that’s why’.
Aston were also told the answer is ‘NO’ while ‘they’ve still got Stroll driving’, and the 26-year-old was described elsewhere as the ‘real hurdle’. A final X user said that, with ‘all due respect’, ‘it isn’t going to happen’ until they change their line-up.
The brutal verdict on Lance Stroll in the Formula 1 paddock
Damningly for Aston Martin, Adrian Newey agrees with some of the fans above. A recent report revealed that Newey doesn’t think Stroll is ‘good enough’.
The 65-year-old, who arrives in March, is partially driving the team’s pursuit of Max Verstappen. But the Red Bull superstar would likely arrive as a successor to Fernando Alonso, whose retirement is getting closer.
- READ MORE: How Max Verstappen’s camp responded to Aston Martin’s reported £1bn Formula 1 contract
‘Many’ in the F1 paddock are now doubting Stroll’s ‘qualities’, which will make it a difficult environment for the ex-Williams driver. Perhaps, if his future was really under threat, it would bring out better performances in him.
