Stroll is done with Formula 1 and this behaviour has no place in F1

Stroll misbehaves in Qatar

Was it a punch against the wall, or did he push an Aston Martin employee? The team will claim that the former was the case, but Stroll's attitude has been striking negatively for some time. This season, Fernando Alonso has dominated him, and he does not like it.

Within the Aston Martin camp, Stroll is described as shy when asked why he gives such interviews. Everyone knows better. The fact that Stroll barely speaks to the press, or with little respect, has nothing to do with being shy but rather spoilt behaviour.

Father Lawrence Stroll bought Aston Martin because Williams were not good enough. Aston Martin got a brand new factory from Stroll and brought in big names, with Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso as figureheads. In the background, Stroll was pushed further and further away, especially with the arrival of Alonso.

Alonso trumps Stroll

At the side of Vettel, Stroll looked like a strong second driver at times. Vettel beat him in the duel, but Stroll was not far off in those two years together. It has completely changed in 2023. Alonso moved to Aston Martin and was much faster than Stroll from day one. Here are just some of the statistics:

Qualifying duel: 15-2

Qualifying difference: 0.356s

Race duel: 12-1

Points: 174-47

Alonso has only just arrived, and the difference is immediately clear. Stroll had the excuse of his broken wrists at the start of the season. That excuse no longer holds true. In fact, the painful part is that Logan Sargeant, Williams' heavily criticised number two, regularly qualifies ahead of Stroll. The car that Stroll needed to leave so badly.

Stroll heading for Le Mans project?

The underlying story is clear: Lance Stroll is done with Formula 1. An official announcement about 2024 remains outstanding. Lance's contract is always an unknown. This time last year, he was already announced for this season. That has not happened for 2024 (yet). David Croft guessed that Stroll might take up another sport. Stroll laughed about it, but who knows, maybe Croft's guess was not so crazy.

The announcement that Aston Martin will also compete in the World Endurance Championship and Le Mans cannot really be separated from Stroll's attitude and achievements in F1. He may have realised that he will never win alongside Alonso. Maybe in endurance racing, he will succeed. For Stroll's father, it would also solve some problems.

Lance's poor performance has put Aston Martin under pressure from McLaren. Never should it have come to this with the pace of the AMR23, but the difference of more than a hundred points means that Aston Martin is not competing with Ferrari and Mercedes for P2 in the championship but must do everything possible to keep P4. It makes quite a difference in terms of prize money.

The push, the post-qualifying interview and Stroll's general demeanour says it all: this guy is done with F1. This behaviour has no place in F1 and has no place at a big brand like Aston Martin. Lance needs to change, or the team's line-up will have to change.