Everybody--including TV commentators--makes excuses for the kid. I assume that they fear incurring the wrath of Stroll Sr.
Fear him? Why. He has a kid who is the epitome of talentless pay driver. Daddy is ruining whatever career might exist. If anything daddy might want to limit the damage and stop listening to his own son's desires. He is an F1 embarrassment as it stands. He has shown zero improvement. Zero. The results should offer or yield blunt assessments as money is literally being thrown away. Its now utterly comical.
I agree. However he is just par for the course of untalented pay drivers. And if we compare him to a former Indy champion, Stroll is actually doing better than that...Michael's races often were over after turn 1.
I agree with this. Some peoples' comments in this thread are utterly ridiculous. I guess you don't need any talent to win a Championship in Formula 3 and 4, where the cars are essentially equal, right? I guess his dad's money won that for him, right? Let's hear the ridiculous arguments of how that occurred. There are plenty of rookies who had shaky starts in F1 their 1st year. They either improve, or they go away. But hey, let's all pile on Lance in his 1st year - yeah, that's reasonable. Let's all just automatically assume that because his dad has money, he cannot have any talent. If you guys want to bash every rookie who isn't Max, then you aren't worth listening to. Go find the closest schoolyard, and you'll fit right in with all of the high schoolers there.
Gilles wreckless and brilliant. Name a journalist or other 'expert' stating anything about Stroll as such or even remotely close. Sure he needs more time but the radio traffic alone is beyond laughable. He is not showing growth race to race. Great he did well in Jr Formula. That means what? Z E R O unless that performance and trend arrive with him in Formula 1. He is being called the best prepared rookie ever. He is not showing much in terms of future growth or performance given the preparation. He is not making a dent in Massa at all. He's not even in the same garage. He might be better placed in Sauber. In Sauber he'd face Wehrlein who shows FAR MORE promise if seated in a better machine. Stroll's in a better machine and with all his prep and Jr Formula time is failing...utterly. On a good day he shows midpack or worse potential when you have to compare him to Max. Max was crazy and a touch wild but showed continued growth and performance improvement in year 1. Stroll rolled into F1 with that comparison to deal with. Well sux to be Stroll but thats how we roll at this time in the F1
It is worth noting that Michael Andretti did get a podium finish in his first and only F1 season. Unfortunately it was his last race.
Let's see, Hmm. Unlimited testing, being in the very best team, having the best engines dyno'd and given to him and the less good to the rest, enjoying the very best facilities... Yeah, it's not cheating but you can definitely enjoy a (significant advantage) when you bring money. You can't even dispute that. Yes, very true. But a gap of 1.1-1.5 seconds per LAP to his teammate, is pretty damn big and much bigger than other gaps to rookie teammates to others. I think we can all agree that Massa is no Schumacher, Senna or Max. He is in F1 and his performance, or lack of it, deserves to be discussed. Similar things happen to other rookies, for better or worse. Giovinazzi got pretty damn high praise didn't he? Despite his crash in China people want to see more of him as he showed talent despite very few laps. For all the laps Stroll has done in F1, he's not shown an ounce of talent. The reason why he's discussed so fiercely is the way he bought himself in. There are plenty of examples of guys who bought themselves into F1 but where quick, or at least close to their teammates, and also guys that bought themselves in and where utterly hopeless. They also got discussed, they also got ridiculed.
Exactly! Hell, even Maldonado who famously bought himself in, had one thing going for him...he was FAST. Maybe not THE fastest, or very consistent, but he had plenty of days where he was fast, matching/beating teammates. Until he flung it into a wall.
It is not every year that an 18 yr old kid,with vast family backing combined with some very decent results in single seaters, rocks up into F1 in a pretty good car. Max is an exception not the rule,so it is unlikely that Lance will be able to match him in the forseable future ..if ever. I say give it a full season then see how things are going.If only he can get a decent race and finish in his home race...
Maybe some home cooking will help Prince Lancelot. By the way . . . . on which side of his head does he part his hair?
It's not so much Lance himself that is interesting. It's the how and why this kid got to where he is now.
+1 he had speed and the ability with a chance to provide results. Stroll is stuck and not improving nor is he showing any hint at all of getting even slightly better thus far. Im sorry but that is the measurement of a rookie. Potential and the ability to show it. He is at best....stagnating.
I agree with you 100%. Time will tell, only time. Lance is interesting and I am looking forward how well he will perform in a couple of years. I think he will become a very good F1 driver ... Patience is the key. Absolutely not. He achieved impressive results in F3 and F4. I see him as an exceptional case, one that also shows potential; I just imagine how good he will be in his 20's; Jacques Villeneuve ( an exceptional talent ) came in F1 at the age of 26 IIRC. 8 years is huge ... If you have no talent you cannot benefit of it. Lance seems to have good talent because these significant advantages gave him significantly more victories and results than his competitors ... I would be more skeptic if he had barely outperform the competition ... Relax ... Give him time ... For sure he is no Schumacher, he's a nice and honest guy, not a dirty driver ... Again, we must give him some slack, we have the chance to see the evolution and rise of a promising young driver. Let's enjoy it and see what will happen in a couple of years ... Those complaining about Lance make me think of people that would endlessly bash about the not so brilliant debut of a 14 years old gifted kid accepted in medicine. He is an exception and we must encourage him and show some patience. Exactly! I would even say give him a couple of seasons. How many time Juan Pablo Montoya had to wait before entering as a F1 driver? I am confident that Lance will be a top F1 driver in the future. If not, certainly not the worst. Yes, we are spoiled here in Québec and I will not let down Lance. I believe he will perform very well in the future.
Massa qualifies 7th Stroll qualifies 17th *it should be noted that Williams DUMPED Massa to put Stroll in his seat. oops!
And this is what's most fascinating about this whole Stroller thing. How did a team such as Williams get to this point where they would do anything, ANYTHING . . . just to survive.
Don´t you think that it is a little bit early to put Max in a row with Schumacher and Senna??? He looks promising but he did not achieve anything by now except a few wins.... I think this is exactly the problem and the reason they actually destroy his career at the moment by putting him into F1 too early. It is not a question that he can develop but it would have been wiser to have him develop in lesser series until he is really ready to enter F1 rather than throwing him in to early and hope he will develop in F1. I doubt that he will get the time in the highest motor sport series to develop in the way you hope. I think they did not do him a favour by giving him a F1 seat at this age. He might have an other timing in his development compared to Max who obviously had no problem to be thrown into the big sea at this age...
