Rock 'n Stroll . . . The Stroller Thread.

Drivers with worse results than Stroll on the current grid typically have far worse cars, which may explain why they're not as much criticized.
Of course as long as someone is paying and as he fulfills the conditions, he can stay; but that does not mean it's good for AMR or for the sport in general.

 

He regularly outperforms Bottas despite having almost no support. In the political world of F1, having a solid fanbase can get you extra perks in F1. Bottas has being building up a goofy brand and even though he has proved to be extremely overrated, he still is considered the #1 driver. This isn't saying Zhou is a top level driver, but he far exceeds the likes of Sargeant, Stroll, Latifi, Mazepin, etc.

 

Absolutely, I always wonder why he has a space. I'm thinking $$$ has to be involved on the back end.

 

Really? I thought it was quite the opposite, but open minded. Bottas seems to always score higher points on full seasons, what am I missing?

 

We are agreed friend, I ain't writing the check, so my opinion is worth as much as my contribution to Stroll's salary.

The reason why my opinion (happy to give a refund for my two cents) is against Stroll is I want the 'best' (I don't care if you're rich, purple, old, have one leg) - the only judgement I have is the stopwatch.

To me the clock has spoken, and it finds Stroll lacking compared to Alonso.

 

Bottas has always won the final points standings, but not by much. Zhou often outqualifies Bottas, but very often has a bad luck race. Maybe he needs to be more aggressive out there, but even this season when he's been doing really well his car or team has let him down. The final points absolutely do not tell the story. I'm not saying Zhou is beating Bottas every weekend, but Bottas certainly isn't dominating Zhou in all the metrics.

 

I mean maybe Stroll Sr. is looking to find wealthy Middle East sheiks that will buy AM the same why McLaren is now Bahraini, Jaguar/Rover Indian , Bentley/Rolls/Mini German, Morgan/Vauxhall Italian, and MG/Lotus Chinese.

(the irony)

Let me put it this way, when I think of Bahrain, nepotism goes hand in hand.

So perhaps on brand after all.

 

Thanks for your perspective, admittedly, I've pretty much ruled Zhou out as a serious driver, I'll take a closer look.

 

If Lawrence Stroll doesn' t question his son's presence in the AMR team, I cannot see what business it is to anyone else.

 

Do you politicise everything in your life ? I certainly don't !!

 

100%

 

The sport is an entertainment, for which the audience is entitled to have opinions - that does not mean decision power, but that does not mean indifference either.
Formula 1 is not supposed to be a closed private club. It would be different if there were no spectators, no TV rights, and so on.

 

In F1, the public has no right beside enjoying itself.
The power belongs to those who have a stake in it. Those who don't like it can leave at any time.

 

I've ruled Stake F1 Kick Sauber out as a serious team. Every pit stop is a clown show.

 

Try Sargent first. Or Riccardo.

 

We all know where the power exists. But this idea for fans to either enjoy it or shut up and leave is just silly.

 

It's still what happends in many walks of life: arts, entertainments, media, fashion, holidays, sports, politics, etc ...

As long as people can vote with their feet !

 

I think this went over your head, my point is Stroll Sr doesn’t seem to care about points, so an explanation why this may be is he is not in for the long term, and end goal is to sell Aston Martin. Just like McLaren got sold last month to Bahrain. I mention the other countries because some of them culturally are more accepting of nepotism, and second, this fate has succumbed to literally every British car manufacturer.

What more can be read into assertion?

 

British car manufacturers being sold to foreign countries was absolutely fine with me.

 

Why would I have anything against that? Pininfarina is an Indian company, and half of the parts of my Ferrari are German and Japanese. It's not a critique of culture; it just is. Not good or bad. Nothing more, nothing less.

I bring this fact up not as an criticism, but because McLaren was recently acquired by Bahrain, a region where nepotism is culturally accepted compared to the United States and Britain. In entities rooted in monarchies, it's understandable that a 'second-rate' son will always be favored by daddy, the 'King. ' So Stroll Jr fits right on brand.

This intriguing development leads me to theorize that Aston Martin is ultimately positioned for sale, g iven that all the storied English auto manufacturers have met this fate.

P.S. I think what may have triggered you is when I remarked the 'irony', which any historian can explain, but happy to expound if you would like me too.

 

You didn't trigggered me the least. A change of ownership is often for the best.
I do not regret that most of the old British firms are gone, and were replaced by Japanese and Korean ones.
We were plagued by bad cars, constant strikes, and an unhappy workforce.
As a country, we have gained modern factories, better cars, a resolution to our trade union problems; England needed that change.
I wouldn't qualify Tata's takeover of Jaguar Land Rover a huge success, I must say, and I question if they will see the next decade. Massive issues in supply, production quality have brought a drop in sales, and there are no new models in the horizons. After Chrysler, Ford and GM have deserted the UK, victim of their own home problem. The Ford range in Europe has shrunk terribly.
Nissan, Toyota and Mitsubishi have factories here, and offer reliable cars. Hyunday may too.
Not terribly worried about the niche market (Aston, Morgan, Bentley or Rolls) there will always suckers wanting to invest in them, as manufacturers or buyers. Does really BMW need Rolls Royce, and Mercedes Bentley ?
In Britain, if you want a good sensible car, buy Japanese or Korean. If you need something more refined, you buy German.
The irony (to me at least), is that the 2 countries comprehensively defeated and destroyed during WWII recovered better and quicker than the winning side !!
I think we have largely benefited from the switch from British cars to Far East ones!

 

Back in the 80's, my next store neighbor(retired navy physicist) bought the first Honda Civic that came out. He got ALOT of flak from his fellow service colleagues because he to include his colleagues fought against Japan. He told me when I was in high school to watch for this company Honda because they are going to reinvent the economical automobile. Man, was he right.....among the other things Honda has invested in.

My father, whom had no college education, told me that my next door neighbor was crazy for buying a Japanese car. I approached my father 30 years later and reminded him of Honda.....he didn't want to admit he was wrong.

 

Drama with me.
Only my opinion again.

 

How did it affect you ?

England got rid of bad cars made by ill-managed companies in unprofitable factories by a disgruntled workforce.
The Japanese came and took over, showing the country how it's done! Pity they didn't do it in France too !!
They wouldn't recruit anyone who had previously worked in the car industry, and wouldn't accept trade unions in their factories. They instrilled the discipline and rigor England was too soft to impose. It was a no-nonsense management that cut the wings of the agitators. We gained a lot from it: better cars, for a start!

 

BMW won't build me a Triumph TR9 MX-5-killer!