What people close to Lance Stroll believe is his main ‘issue’ in F1 that Aston Martin simply have to address

Lance Stroll has been one of the surprise packages of the 2025 Formula 1 season so far, with two points finishes in the opening two races.

The Canadian has been largely outperformed by experienced teammate Fernando Alonso since the Spaniard arrived at Aston Martin in 2023. While the two-time champion grabbed eight podiums in his first season with the team, Stroll managed 74 points.

Aston Martin regressed in 2024 with the AMR24. However, Alonso was still able to fight for points, whereas his teammate finished in the top 10 six times all year. Stroll clearly needed to find improvements in 2025 – thus far, he has done just that.

The 26-year-old finished a shock P6 in Australia in the tricky conditions. In the midst of the interchangeable weather and indecisive strategy calls amongst the field, Stroll kept his car on track to score points.

Alonso congratulated Stroll on his performance as the Spaniard was caught out at turn six and crashed out of the race. At the Chinese Grand Prix, the Aston Martin would repeat their Melbourne feats.

Alonso retired again – this time with a mechanical issue – while Stroll was elevated from P12 to P9 after the Ferraris and Pierre Gasly were disqualified. Two points finishes for the latter to start the 2025 campaign is encouraging, but it is clear improvements still need to be made.

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People around Lance Stroll say his performance ‘disappears’ during races – Aston Martin must address this issue

Not many would have expected the Canadian to have already scored 10 points in 2025, given the car and his performances of late. Alex Brundle noticed Stroll was struggling during pre-season testing as his AMR25 did not look up to catch.

However, it is the 26-year-old who has bagged the points for the Silverstone-based outfit thus far. Incredibly, Stroll is ahead of both Ferrari drivers heading into the Japanese Grand Prix.

What will be important for the Canadian now is to find consistency – something he has been desperately struggling with in recent years. Journalsit Nate Saunders shared that people close to Stroll say his main issue is that his pace ‘disappears’ too often in races.

“Look, whenever a driver finishes in the points, you’ve got to give them credit, you deliver on what the car can put forward. But Stroll’s problem has never been that he’s rubbish every single weekend, or that he’s struggled every single weekend,” said Saunder via ESPN’s Unlapped podcast.

“His issue is that he makes, there’s been so many moments in his career where the performance has just gone away, there’s been weird crashes, whatever.

“So I don’t think two races changes that for me. He’s a quick driver Stroll, on his day when he wants to be and you talk to people who have worked with him before and they say that’s not the issue.

“It’s just that sometimes that just disappears or he’s just not in the race. And the interesting thing from the Aston Martin point of view there is the aura around Alonso feels to maybe be waning a little bit.”

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Lance Stroll has the upper hand over Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin in 2025

The form of the 26-year-old has stunned even key figures within the tea. Adrian Newey has been pleasantly surprised by Stroll so far, having previously stated he was not good enough for Aston Martin.

After two races, it is clear Stroll has the upper hand over Alonso. The 43-year-old is the only driver on the grid not to finish a race – and he is struggling to find an answer.

Stroll drove better than Alonso in Shanghai, with journalist Edd Straw saying it looked like a combination of the AMR25 being more stable and the Canadian having regrouped over the winter to find form.

The 26-year-old has not only been impressive results-wise but also technically. Stroll discovered something Alonso did not while on the simulator in Silverstone.

Of course, the two-time champion’s fortunes can be turned around by a couple of results. However, he is currently being overshadowed by Stroll and Alonso will be desperate to find some performance.