They are not in the same arena as Red Bull, Mercedes or Ferrari. Mercedes will make sure they are not in the same arena. I call that sub par but maybe that's a strong word.
There are no restrictions on a team fiddling about with cars three years older than current. All it takes is money. So when you say he can test when other can't, it's simply not true. Bottas was catching Lance at a rate of over a second a lap. On the last lap, he was within a second so he was able to use the DRS. Lance was a sitting duck. It would have been foolish to try and block Bottas as it could have been disastrous for both.
+1 How many drivers suffered crashes/failures/issues/penalties in the race that promoted Stroll to the podium?: Lewis Hamilton Sebastian Vettel Kimi Raikkonen Max Verstappen Sergio Perez Esteban Ocon Felipe Massa (possibly) Without their issues, chances are Stroll would have finished 9th or 10th - Not quite as impressive. (Stroll's race in Baku was like racing against Usain Bolt in a 100 metre sprint, and whilst he's 50 metres ahead of you and pulling away from you, he trips over his own loose shoe lace and knocks himself out, and you win the race - The record books will show you won and beat Bolt, but the reality is: You just got lucky!) Now I don't expect him to beat the likes of Hamilton, Vettel, Raikkonen or Verstappen in a straight fight, but he should be able to fight with Massa, Perez, and Ocon, and if he has any real driving skill then he should be able to beat them. When that starts happening on a regular basis, then I will rate him. Right now, in Baku he just got lucky!
So what you're saying is that if just a couple more people made mistakes, Stroll could have won. Nice. Folks, in order to finish first, first you must finish. "stuff" happens. Especially in racing. Stroll put himself in a position to capitalize. The "stuff" that happened to others is not Sir Lancelot's fault!
Strange the hate this young man has directed towards him. Give the guy a chance for christ sakes. I thought you couldn't buy talent
I was not a fan, from the start. But, I watched his lap times during the race, and there were times when he was second or third fastest car on the track. He's 18 years old and acquitted himself more than well. I'm on the Stroll train!
For Massa's issues to have benefited Stroll, Massa would have had to have been in front of Stroll - and he was never in front of Stroll all weekend. For the first time, Stroll outqualified Massa, and outraced him until Massa dropped out. Granted, that's a low standard , but nonetheless Stroll was ahead of his team mate for the first time on pure merit. For all those who have been dissing Stroll, if he's as bad as you say then Massa is REALLY crap... time to head over to the Massa Sucks! thread and really heap the abuse on the over the hill, much slower than he used to be, shoulda stayed retired, veteran. Congrats to Stroll, I had high hopes as a fellow Canadian and was very disappointed by his poor results so far this season until Canada, but he genuinely held his own and earned that podium.
Strange to consider that within a few races, Lance Stroll has already reached what most drivers who go through F1 never achieve: a podium !!!
Massa looked good in practice here, but felt the grip went away in qualifying without extra preparation laps to build tyre temperature and he came perilously close to disaster several times. **He drove very well in the race, running ahead of Stroll until a rear damper failure locked his suspension solid and robbed him of a certain podium finish. Azerbaijan Grand Prix driver ratings - F1 - Autosport Plus
Stroll was never going to beat Felipe this time around per the team below... Suspension on Felipe Massa's Williams 'locked solid' in Baku - F1 - Autosport --Had the failure not occurred, Lowe believes Massa could have won the race, in what would have been his first victory since the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix and Williams's first since Pastor Maldonado's '12 Spanish GP triumph. "We saw the problem with Lewis [Hamilton, who pitted from the lead because of a loose headrest] and then Sebastian [Vettel] got his penalty," said Lowe. "When you put that together, Felipe could have been leading that race and finishing on the top step.--
A lot of what if's for everyone. Lewis could of won if his head rest had of been put in properly. Vettel would of won if he hadn't of tried make whoopie in a short lived mating attempt of a Ferrari and Mercedes. GordonC Massa was in front of Stroll at the time of suspension failure. Well done on Stroll to keep the car running decent laps, and bringing it home. If papa had any doubts about the $$$ spent, well, what is a F1 Podium worth? There really isn't a $$$ value on that, it is a priceless moment that will be a part of the rest of Stroll's life. Massa would of held off Bottas, Massa without issues perhaps would of not been passed by Ricciardo, so Williams very well could of had a race win. Ah well. I was happy for Williams, it was a bit emotional seeing their pay driver holding it together in the top three, lap after lap, as Bottas, Vettel, and Hamilton came charging. I never really saw much in car to comment on if his style has calmed down, or he still looks uncomfortable. A lot of cars or drivers had problems that gave him a better result than his speed; still, a F1 podium, under any legal circumstances, is a priceless achievement.
</script>100%; height:250px" tabindex="1"> Just a tidbit. One can't "could of" or "would of" anything. One can "could've" or "would've" (as in "could have" or "would have") anything they might've (as in might have) desired at the time.
Ask Michael Andretti what a podium is worth in your rookie season when your teammate is Ayrton Senna--not Felippe Massa? The answer is: Not much.
I commented to someone today that Stroll really didn't do anything in the race as far overtaking or defending. They told me to watch the race again and watch how great he was at the restarts.......??? he didn't do anything? like nothing.......If you count overtaking Verstappen( with an electrical problem) or Massa( with a suspension problem) as overtakes as their cars are failing then ok. I hate to sound critical of him, I'm still holding out my opinion till near the end of the season but really the only thing he did was stay out of trouble(which in that race wasn't easy, so good for him). He left the door WIDE open for Riccardo to dive bomb him and get by as well. It will be very interesting come the next few races because I remember in Canada he didn't do anything interesting as well he just capitalized on others crashes or mechanical failures. anyways......thats racing I guess
Villenueve is NOT impressed: "Pathetic!" Villeneuve: Stroll's start to F1 still 'pathetic' | PlanetF1 : PlanetF1
What sums up strolls potential is the way he was over taken by Bottas on the last straight of the last lap. That was truly pathetic. The speed differential between them was an utter embarrassment. Secondly, he put up zero defence. Zero. He just cruised over the line and then announced pathetically over radio that 'he got me' as if they were playing a game in the schoolyard. With an attitude like that, he isn't going to achieve anything. Sadly, he is not good enough for a long term career in F1. The only driver worse than him is Palmer.
So, you didn't understand that Bottas had the benefit of DRS, when Stroll couldn't use it? That gives at least a 15mph advantage.
