Do you sincerely believe he deserves driving a formula one car on his pure merits ? He’s not better compared with let’s say Mick Schumacher for instance. I have absolutely no antipathy against Lance but he’s not Formula one material.
Anyone who satisfies the criteria to obtain a Superlicense is entitled to drive in F1. Then it's about finding a seat, and Lance Stroll managed that as a pay driver first, then in his father team. I do not see why his place on the grid is constantly challenged. As for your comparison, Stroll is better than many who passed through F1.
Actually yes since he got his super license. That's the prerequisite. If that's true, then what about all the drivers ending up behind him? Are they not F1 material either? He is not WDC material but a journeyman. At least 3/4 of the grid fit that profile, even if they would never admit to that.
Allowed not entitled. Entitled means once you own a license some team has to put you in a car. Only after Sr. figured out buying a seat was "not that much less" than 'buying a team outright" Mostly, he ends up deserving his grid spot. How about:: Stroll is about above average when compared to all drivers who earned less than 4 podiums.
Well, William might actually be accurate. I can't say for sure but there's a TON of former F1 drivers who came and went. There's even a website with the stats of worst drivers. It's amazing how many there were, we just forgot their names. So given all people who ever made it to the grid of a GP, then comparing that huge group with Stroll, he probably ain't that bad after all. I always thought he is a midfield driver, not better, not worse.
I agree with Andreas, He is probably not in the top ten in the current field but he isn't the worse. He had some nice passes in Brazil and scored points for the team. You can't compare him to Alonso- Perez got schooled in the faster car!
Before criticising Lance Stroll, some people could do well to have a look at the website statsf1.com which gives plenty of statistics about F1 since it started back in 1950. All the seasons are recorded, the circuits, the drivers, the constructors, the engines, the formulae, the lap-by-lap of all the GPs, etc ... and plenty of other stats by nations, age, number of wins, etc .... Well, Lance Stroll doesn't do too bad in that lot The problem for some is that's in French, but stats are easy to understand.
Lance Stroll is NOT your typical F1 driver which is based on stats. Lance Stroll defies all logic of what any F1 driver in F1 history is supposed to be judged at. As long as dad is around, Lance Stroll will FOREVER drive an F1 car for 10 years, 15 years or 20 years. Stats don't apply to him....nor his father.
He is not the first gentleman driver nor the last. F1 history is full of them. Guys who buy their way into F1 and stay in it because of it. In the early days it was guys who paid with their own money, later it was guys who were paid by their sponsors. Ah, there is a nice outlook. Thanks!
I see now, Lances goal is to drive in more races than anyone else in history, claiming exactly 1 world record.
In approaching 6500 posts I don't think anyone has defended Lance as being a generational talent just waiting to blossom. We all know by now that he is a good solid mid-field driver. Occasionally he'll have his day and score a podium or better but on the balance he is not positioned to set records and define the sport. That said there are a good number of people who just cannot even accept that he is a good mid-fielder. They INSIST on saying he is useless and does not deserve to be in F1. Fact is that he is not the first pay driver nor will he be the last. He is far from the wealthiest and he is playing in a sandbox where his Father's money is average compared to many around him. Latifi for instance was significantly more wealthy than Stroll yet has much less to show for it. Nobody talks about the tens of millions Norris gave to McLaren to get his seat or the bottomless pockets supporting Perez. The list goes on but the point is made. Stroll won championships on his way up the ladder & scored the points required to earn a Superlicense . By any metric his position in F1 was earned. No matter how much money Daddy has, he is alone in that car and needs to drive it himself. Yes his ascension was aided by family money but that is the way of the World. I continue to find it funny how people claim to be knowledgeable race fans yet complain that the costs of racing don't make it fair.
Great post, thanks. Some very interesting points about some of the drivers' financial details, which I know very little about.
Wouldn't a mid field driver make him one of 8 or so in current F1? If he is a good mid field driver, wouldn't that rank him around 10th or 11th? Can you name the 6-10 drivers he is currently better than?
I don't know what you are getting at, or what you want to prove here. Lance Stroll is actually 10th or 11th in the WDC ranking. That looks pretty mid field to any reasonable person, no ? Two GPs from season's end, he is ahead of Tsunoda, Ocon, Sargeant, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Zhou, Magnussen or Albon.
One of the most annoying arguments made about Lance is that his Dad 'bought' his spot in F1 and that just about anyone with enough money can do the same. While that may have been the case in the early 90's and before, today the series leading up to F1 are littered with incredibly wealthy families (many of which not used to hearing 'no') totally unable to break into F1 with their kid who does decently well in the lower formulas. This concept that enough money can buy you a place on the grid is totally unfounded by reality and generally germane to people who have only a superficial understanding of the sport.
Driver standings do not represent driving talent. You or anyone that watches F1 should know this. If you genuinely think Stroll is a better driver than Albon, or even Ocon, you need to check yourself into a clinic. I know you love the guy, but lets be real. But hey lets play along in your world for a moment. If Stroll is better than Bottas, that means he would be able to give more of a challenge to Hamilton than Bottas did. What are we thinking for 2019, 6 or 7 wins? Since Albon beat Latifi worse than Russell did and is actually able to get results in a race, it's fair to say he is equal or better than Russell. If Lance is better than George Russell, how badly would he have beat Hamilton in 2022? And since we are basing a lot off championship standings, well Ocon technically beat Alonso last year. Since Lance is better than Ocon, then Lance has to be better than Alonso! Wait a minute... I guess it's time to come back to reality.
I think it's been said before that everyone understands the world of pay drivers. Lance was immediately seen as below average talent during winter testing in his rookie season. But nobody held it against him for buying his way into F1. As you said, it's been done many many times before. Sometimes even great future drivers buy there way in. Lando you mentioned, and we can't forget the great Michael Schumacher. The question is how many pay drivers stay in F1 if they can't cut it? Most may only get a few years at best until a new pay driver comes in. Lance Stroll goes so far beyond this formula, to the point his dad actually buys a Formula 1 team just to keep his kid in the sport. We can go onto talk about how no pay driver that hasn't earned his place will ever get a seat in a top team. Typically not even in a mid field team. Lawrence Stroll has publicly invested a tremendous amount of money and spoke loud about his team becoming a winner in Formula 1. His son proves to hold that idea back with his limited skills. And then we can go onto talk about how Formula 1 is part of the entertainment business. They are providing a show that hundreds of millions of fans world wide get hooked to, wanting to see a great show with the worlds best drivers. While I think we all get enjoyment from poor drivers performing badly, eventually it gets old and we want to either see the next poor performer, or the next rising star. If you are an Aston Martin fan, you likely want to see them succeed.The Stroll's have put a road block to that. Even in the well known world of pay drivers in the supposed pinnacle of motorsports, I find it strange that anyone would defend this unfortunate reality as a good thing.
