Lance Stroll, Bradley Joyce, Force India, Yas Marina

Stroll: I’m “very far from reaching my full potential”

2018 F1 season

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Lance Stroll says he has a long way to go to get the best out of himself as he heads into his third season in Formula 1.

The 20-year-old made his debut for Williams in 2017 but has joined Racing Point (formerly known as Force India) for the 2019 F1 season.

He had a difficult 2018 campaign as Williams took a major step backwards with its new car, falling from fifth in the championship to 10th. He said that makes it difficult to draw lessons from his second full season in the sport.

“I don’t think it’s really fair to compare the two [or] judge the year in general,” he said. “It’s been a fire-fighting season.

“We picked up very few points but the few times that I picked up points were big highlights because we beat quicker cars around us. Same thing in qualifying: I scraped into Q2, got into Q3 in Monza, they’ve really been big achievements because it’s the performance has been really poor.

“All in all I do believe I’m a more complete driver today than I was a year ago. But I think that I just haven’t been able to demonstrate that due to the package. Which is the nature of the sport, that’s how it goes some years and you have to accept that as a driver.”

Stroll believes he can make progress in a broad range of areas following his change of teams. “I would say the main thing is just experience,” he said.

“I’ve learned so much with another season under my belt of Formula 1, time with the engineers, expanding my knowledge of Formula 1, the tyres, racing, qualifying. Just with seat time you learn so much and that’s far from done.

I just turned 20 years old and I still believe I’m very far from reaching my full potential. Every year I try to keep chipping away at it. Over the winter this year I’m going to reflect and work on my weaknesses and build on my strengths.”

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88 comments on “Stroll: I’m “very far from reaching my full potential””

  1. Biskit Boy (@sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk)
    24th December 2018, 9:01

    I forgot how young Stroll is and his comment regarding is potential is fair enough.

    I hope for his sake he surprises a few this year regarding his speed. I don’t think he will match Perez for consistency and race-craft to start with but I’m convinced he will steadily improve and possibly outshine Perez as the season progresses.

    1. I for one wish he’d have done this “learning” in the feeder series instead of buying his way in & using inexperience as an excuse. I don’t think he should be afforded that… you wanna get to F1 earlier than those who earn it on merit, you should be better than them, on merit. Not “oh, I just need a little more experience”.

      1. @Aldoid Stroll made it to F1 on merit. He had the required number of superlicense points, and as @robbie points out in the comments below, his deal with Williams was a proper negotation. He didn’t force his way in.

        1. Never said forced. Bought, is more like it. I don’t think anyone could convince me that any team would have seriously considered putting Lance Stroll in any of their cars without his massive budget in tow. You can cite his superlicense points (fair enough) but Lance got his F3 win because his dad bought a team (making him number 1 driver), furnished F1 engineers from Ferrari, got him untold hours in a new simulator @ Williams that was calibrated for F3… that’s along with his own personal Williams testing program supported by 20 staff, with 5 engineers & two specially prepped engines from Mercedes. He tested in Silverstone, Hungary, Monza, Austria, Barcelona, Abu Dhabi, Austin and Sochi. And after all of that he still looks fairly ordinary.

          1. @Aldoid Fair enough. We’ll see how he does in a decent car after two years of experience. He was limited to a very poor car this year, but if next year, he finishes way behind Perez, then all his critics will be proven right in my eyes.

  2. My potential is limited only by my skill, and my Dad’s bank balance.

    1. Biskit Boy (@sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk)
      24th December 2018, 10:41

      You are confusing potential with opportunity or am I being more cynical than you?

  3. Stephen Higgins
    24th December 2018, 9:47

    Lance, its Christmas tomorrow.

    Not April 1st …

  4. Someone should sit him down and tell him that he has reached his full potential.

    1. No he hasnt but while hes chasing it money is good enough to buy a racing experience in f1.

    2. Potential in F1 is superficial. If he made his debut in the Mercedes, he already would’ve been a multiple race winner, maybe even a wdc. You only see the true potential of F1 drivers when they compete other categories or events like RoC.

  5. I hope that indeed is the case.

  6. Stroll: I’m “very far from reaching my full potential”

    Not really sure if that’s a good thing Lance…

    1. Look at verstappen, phenomenal driver but he still had to learn in 2018 and started in 2015, so based on that stroll has time!

      1. @esploratore

        Yeah.. but Verstappen was good from the moment he entered F1, and he’s been gradually improving year by year. Lance has been rubbish since he’s entered and he actually took a step backwards in 2018.

        Maybe they are moving in opposite directions when it comes to fulfilling their potential. Verstappen has the potential to become an all time great, and he’s getting there step by step. Lance has the potential to be one of F1’s worst drivers of all time and he’s getting there step by step as well.

        1. @todfod But of course let’s be clear that your disdain for the Stroll’s has you unable to bring yourself to acknowledge that the car took a step backwards in 2018, and drivers are coloured by their car.

          1. @robbie

            Regardless of the car he was rubbish this year… Exactly like the season before it. We’ve gauged great drivers in cars way worse than his.. So his car performance does not cloud my judgement

          2. Of course it does. You have admitted your disdain for the Strolls. And you can’t bring yourself to say anything but that he is on a downward trend, even when we know he’ll likely be in a much better car next year. You don’t even care to see what happens next year, for in your opinion he, Lance, not his Dad and a group, bought himself a ride. Your opinion is tainted with hate.

          3. @robbie

            even when we know he’ll likely be in a much better car next year.

            First of all. If you honestly believe that Lance deserves to be in a better car next year… then man… I think you have an opinion tainted with nothing but love for that clown. Maybe his performance in Baku 2017 and Monza 2017 so were phenomenal in your eyes that you completely ignore the 90% of the time he’s the most rubbish performer on the grid.

            The fact that he got out qualified by Sirotkin doesn’t even factor in to your reasoning. The way I see it, anyone who presents you with facts about how bad Stroll is, is just purely hating on him.

            Did Papa Stroll cut you cheque as well?

        2. @todfod Hahaha mate, Robbie is right. You talk about presenting facts but I’ve seen you distort them plenty of times yourself. Stroll got outqualified by Sirotkin, but he outraced him and outscored him, and yet, you praise Sirotkin for being decent performer this year and call his qualifying effort in Monaco outstanding, while conveniently forgetting that Stroll made Q2 as many times as him and made Q3 when Sirotkin failed to do so.

          You’ve called Stroll ‘absolutely rubbish’ and ‘good-for-nothing’, and yet you seem to be supportive of Sirotkin’s performances…if you could look at Stroll’s record this year independent of his status as a pay driver who is very very lucky and very privileged, and frankly, you should, would you still think Stroll is wayyy worse than Sirotkin even though the facts themselves clearly state otherwise? I saw your comment on Perez saying that he is a faster racer than Ocon, but if you can defend Ocon using “facts” such as he spent more laps ahead of Perez and finished ahead of more often than not, why can’t you do the same for Stroll, even though the exact same thing holds true for him as well?

          I think you just like Sirotkin a lot more as a human being, and that’s it…and if you were even a little bit more neutral towards Stroll, you would not blatantly disregard his race results against Sirotkin.

          1. @neutronstar
            Dude… If you’re slower than a rookie pay driver who was ranked as the worst worst driver on the grid… Then I really don’t need to ‘distort’ any facts.

            I don’t think you or robbie could see the obvious even if it slapped you in the face.

          2. @todfod

            I don’t think you or robbie could see the obvious even if it slapped you in the face

            Maybe not, but I still see you doing the same thing. Fixating on the one stat that suits your narrative and convenient filtering out everything else. Qualifying is not the only metric, and frankly, it is less important than race results.

            Look, I get what you’re saying. Your biggest problem with him is the way he was promoted to Racing Point, right? That he doesn’t deserve to be there in place of Ocon at all…but if he can prove himself against Perez next year, will you acknowledge him or are you one of those people who’ll inevitably cook up some conspiracy theory in which the evil Strolls are sabotaging Perez and his car in case that happens?

          3. @neutronstar

            but if he can prove himself against Perez next year, will you acknowledge him or are you one of those people who’ll inevitably cook up some conspiracy theory in which the evil Strolls are sabotaging Perez and his car in case that happens?

            He won’t beat Perez. If he does.. I’ll give credit where it’s due.

          4. @todfod It is not about me thinking Stroll deserves a better ride. I don’t think of it that way. I let F1 decide who gets the rides. But if we could get you past the concept that the car has been rubbish and handcuffed the drivers, why do you think some other driver without billions behind him would be so much more deserving and so much better, in a rubbish car? Why do you wish that on some unknown entity that deserves the seat more in your opinion just because he doesn’t have billions? I’ll assume you haven’t read the recent articles about Williams and how problematic the team has been through and through. If you did you would understand more about how bad the cars have been and how handcuffed they have been to do anything about it.

            Anyway, we’ve had to agree to disagree before on this topic and here we are again. Reasonably, Perez should have the upper hand on Stroll initially at least, as he is the engrained one on the team. I doubt you will acknowledge that though. Stroll will have to trounce Perez right off the bat, which would not be a fair expectation, and if he does you will traipse out your rhetoric that he (Lance) bought himself a ride. Bought himself everything since his youth. In Lance’s position, I’m sure you would have never gone to your car collecting billionaire Dad begging him to take you to a go-kart track, for fear that someone like you would be critical of that. Lance doesn’t get to fulfill his love and dreams because Daddy has too many millions compared to all the other millionaires that have encouraged their kids to do what they love. Well guess what, the Strolls have been dealing with your ilk all along.

          5. @neutronstar I only just saw your mention of “conspiracy theory”… The potential for team preference is a very real element between these two drivers next year, from either side of the garage. And has the potential to be fascinating. Annoyingly there’s a lot of potential for the driver comparison to be far from objective next year.

            Let’s not pretend that these things are just conspiracy theories in motorsport. That’s more ridiculous than some of the theories themselves.

            Apologies for reviving this thread. I miss mentions quite often.

          6. @gongtong You’re correct, but I wasn’t implying that there is absolutely no chance of preferential treatment at Racing point next year. I feel bad for Lance and the situation he finds himself in, because even if it so happens that he performs well and keeps up with Perez on merit, it’s likely that people will not acknowledge his progress, and resort to said ‘theories’.

            Unless there’s any evidence of preferential treatment or unless Perez himself expresses disappointment like Hartley did this year (although that’s unlikely), I don’t see that as a reason to ridicule Stroll and put him down just because he is an easy target. I was just asking Todfod whether he is a proper cynic or is he willing to give Stroll some credit if he does well.

          7. @gongtong When I say I feel bad for Lance, I’m not ignoring how damn lucky and privileged he is.

          8. @neutronstar understood.

            One of the things that often frustrates me about conversations regarding team preference, is that people forget that a team can have a number one driver even if the team’s official statements deny it.

            A team is made of individuals and those individuals will always have opinions (especially when dealing with potentially highly divisive individuals like sporting divas!).

            I have a feeling that the Stroll money machine is going to have to work VERY hard to overturn Perez’ s naturally earned preference within the team. And that there will be no way to conceal it. But it’s just a feeling.

            Either way, I’m really excited about this. I accepted long ago that the entertainment in F1 is in the soap opera. I’ll stick to lower formulae for actual racing!

  7. This is just garbage. Go back to some junior formula to improve, not F1. Of course we all know why that won’t happen.

    1. Biskit Boy (@sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk)
      24th December 2018, 11:35

      Although he spent less time in the lower formula than Perez I think he was more impressive.

  8. Well I hope it turns out to be true.

    I might be an odd one here but I am looking forward to the rivalry between him and Perez next year. Perez have always been an unstable driver when he race against a faster teammate (e.g. Button & Ocon), and it would be nice if Stroll ended up being faster than Perez. That could be the midfield drama of the 2019 season

    1. @okeptl I’m with you on this one. This battle will be a thriller, and you didn’t mention the backstage drama that, if it spills into the public could make for the best soap opera.

      The Strolls own’s the team, and judging by their past behaviour they will try to give Lance the best car they can. Probably at Perez’s expense. However, one of the things we often forget in teams is that there are two types of number one driver; those that are contracted to or designated officially as number one. And those who make themselves number ones by impressing their engineers and crew and pulling them over to their side of the garage.

      We have Stroll with his money and his dad at the helm. Perez who saved the team and has been with them many years and given them their podiums. Who wins? And how explosive will it get? What tactics will be used to try to give Stroll the upper hand, and will the secrets be leaked by those loyal to the Mexican?

      1. Sorry for the very late reply @gongtong

        I agree. the garage will literally split into two when that time comes. Regardless of who will get the number 1 treatment, I can already see Perez leaving the team if the drama is big enough next year.

        Melbourne couldn’t come sooner, and I really hope Stroll can be a proper threat to Perez next year

  9. Every time Stroll says something, I feel so sorry for F1.

  10. It’s Christmas Eve, and I’m still in the middle of my Stroll challenge; no negative comments about Lance’s skills and performance until Melbourne.

    1. This one was borderline but keep on fighting ;)

  11. Daddy must be paying a small fortune to keep this mediocre duds name in the press. He gets more print than Hamilton and Vettel combined. Money not only got him his seat, it lets him tell the world that he’s really better than he is. I’m sick of him.

    1. It is articles like this that keep his name in the press.
      You don’t need to read them, yet you reply anyway.

    2. Biskit Boy (@sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk)
      24th December 2018, 22:17

      You can’t blame the Strolls for making the most of what they have. The negative response to his comments are nothing but childish jealously. We’d all like to be in F1!

      However you can blame the FIA. They make the rules. If f1 teams could be competitive without pay drivers then the implied issue would be resolved.

      So criticise the FIA by all means, but not a father and son living their

      1. Biskit Boy (@sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk)
        24th December 2018, 22:18

        Dream

      2. @sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk

        We’d all like to be in F1!

        Doesn’t mean we all belong there. F1 isn’t a make a wish foundation for billionaires.

        1. @todfod, as much as I normally agree with you, on this I can’t. F1 is essentially exactly that, however now less than ever surely? It’s not like Stroll is Chanoch Nissany, he (yes, through dubious means) dominated a reputed feeder category to gain the super licence points he needed. He has since proved himself to not be a threat to others on the track.

          The current pay driver situation is arguably the best the sport has ever had. In terms of their talent. In terms of the health of teams and the sport, it’s arguably at it’s worst.

          1. @gongtong

            While I do agree with you that the quality of pay drivers have improved from the levels of Nissany, Deletraz, Inoue, Ide and Rosset, you have to understand that no pay driver actually progresses in this sport without merit. What infuriates me about the Stroll situation is that it has set a dangerous precedent for the sport. This is the first time a pay driver has bought a team to progress his career.

            While this may be a consequence of the terrible wealth distribution situation in F1, it still has sunk the sport to new lows. I would probably stop watching this sport the day the top midfield teams are Stroll Racing and Mazepin Racing.

          2. @todfod I completely agree with you in that, as I mentioned with the bit about the sport itself being in its worst health, despite the high level of pay drivers.

            But here’s the positive, Strroll will have no excuse next year. Perez is, at the very least, a very solid benchmark. And the team should still be, what, 5th quickest?

            I don’t think it’s fair to criticise him for this year (And I honestly do want to join in) because that Williams was undriveable, not just slow.

            If he fails next year and is still retained, we have a problem. But personally I’m looking forward to more pay drivers having to actually be held to account and their value becoming a false economy.

            Although I’m not holding my breath.

  12. I think it’s a fair enough assessment that really underpins the fact that perhaps Lance should have spent a year or two in F2 learning his trade.

    F1 shouldn’t really be the place you’re trying to improve from poor to average. It’s the place wher you should be looking to go from good to great.

    1. F1 shouldn’t really be the place where desperate teams have to take drivers with big chequebooks either. That I’m aware of I doubt the Stroll’s forced their way into F1 and the Williams team. There are two sides to a negotiating table. Your second paragraph could be applied to the teams in F1, not just the drivers.

      1. Good point. Agree entirely.

  13. Give him time and his dad’s wallet to become the oldest world champion ever.

    1. If there’s no talent he won’t become a WDC ever, there will still be competition in f1 many years from now. I think stroll isn’t as bad as people make it seem and that he will be relatively close to perez next year.

  14. Another silly article about stroll, to get the haters all riled up.
    One would think they would have better things to do at this time of year, instead of dumping trash at the feet of a 20 year old.

    1. Technically, the same stupid article.
      I swear it was already posted word for word.

  15. petebaldwin (@)
    24th December 2018, 13:42

    That’s right Lance and it is indeed one of the main problems fans have with you. Most drivers are near their potential when they get a seat as one of the best 20 drivers in the world. Drivers get more confident and make less mistakes with experience but they don’t generally get lots quicker…..

    1. Drivers generally get lots quicker when they have the car. So far Stroll has not had a car worthy of being in F1. Since the car is at least 80% of the equation, I expect Stroll will show us much more in a car that presumably will allow that in 2019.

      1. @robbie Agreed. Max was another driver who made the jump from F3, and as quick as he was when he debuted, he has improved a lot since. He was slightly slower than Ricciardo initially, after his promotion to Red Bull and it took him more than two full seasons in F1 to get close to his current level of speed. Lance struggled a lot in his first year, but occasionally performed very well and in just his second year, had to deal with an absolute trashbox of a car. I don’t think he should be judged too harshly as a driver yet, we will see him against a known quantity again next year and get to see whether he has made the improvements he claims. I hope he makes the most the privileges he has been offered…I do think he has the talent to be a decent driver, but the ‘still far from my potential’ card won’t work so well at the end of next year, not for me at least.

        Perez now has an exaggerated version of himself as his teammate at Racing Point. Lance is far more of a pay driver, far more of a ‘poor’ qualifer, seems decent in terms of race pace and has a knack of scoring points and get important results, sometimes through good fortune and opportunism. I said this last year, but I think Stroll has the potential to become a Perez-esque driver in the future.

      2. Also, another example of a driver who was poor in his first season in F1 – Nico Hulkenberg, and he was a rookie GP2 champion. Barrichello can be considered similar to Massa in terms of his succeses in Formula 1, and Hulk was outscored 22-47, while Stroll was outscored 40-43. Even if we assume Massa would have finished 2nd in Baku that year and Stroll 4th, the score would have been 37-58, which is still better than what Hulk managed. Of course, Massa had a lot of other instances of bad luck as well, but even if it would’ve been all rosy for him, Stroll would still have scored most of his points and in the worst case, the ratio would have been just slightly worse than Hulk’s vs Barrichello.

        Surprisingly, Hulk had that one single moment of inspiration in qualifying in Brazil…not entirely different from Stroll’s qualifying performance in Monza 2017. Thankfully, Hulk had a decent car in 2012, improved throughout, and got to show his skills better. I’m generally not of the opinion that a driver can’t or shouldn’t treat F1 as a learning ground, because drivers like Hulk and Perez (and even Vandoorne) have shown that regardless of prior experience, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be fully prepared to be competitive in F1, but you can become a good driver over time, and improve even in terms of raw speed. Also, experience doesn’t always translate to making less mistakes, as we saw Hulkenberg involved in more crashes this year than any other time in his career.

        1. *37-61, if Massa finished 2nd.

        2. @neutronstar, with your comments about Hulkenberg, you could also note that he gained considerably from the fact that he spent a year working as Force India’s test driver in 2011 given the number of free practise sessions where he was allowed to drive the car.

          I would not be surprised if that contributed quite a lot to his upswing in form in 2012, as it meant that he was able to continue learning and developing his skills out of the glare of the press and general public.

          1. @anon Yeah, that’s a good point.

      3. Robbie, don’t call the williams 2017 a car not worthy of being in f1, it was a midfield car!

        1. @esploratore It may have been 5th in the WCC, but I don’t call 83 points in the WCC for both cars, a car without problems. Nor were the cars they beat, that achieved fewer points than that, any great competition. And in 2017 Stroll was a rookie as far as his performance or expectations goes. Why sugar coat 83 points into something with which Stroll should have been able to impress. I’m sure if we looked into the fine details of that car we’d find that it could barely make the finicky tires work. There’s a reason they have needed money from the likes of the Strolls. So even if one wanted to fake it that 5th in the WCC actually meant a half decent car, it wasn’t. It was just marginally better than some other terrible cars.

  16. He is dillusional if he really believes that. He hasn’t shown anything special in the last decade. Sure he can grow a bit, but he is close to his ceiling. He is hiding behind the Williams, but that won’t be possible next year. Just like McLaren blamed everything on Honda. There is a reason his dad has to buy him a seat.

    1. What did you achieve when you were 10 to 20 years old.

      1. This is a typical immature internet reponse. What I do has nothing to do with what Stroll does. He makes a claim about his potential which has been contradicting anything he has shown the last decade, based on the growth and talent of countless drivers who went before him. He is not saying he has more potential, which he has, but he is saying he has lots more potential, which he hasn’t. Money keeps him in F1, nothing else. While I know thats the game, I don’t mind calling it out also. I don’t need a special achievement to be able to do I?

        Of course if I make claims like that about myself in public and you think I am wrong, you are more then welcome to comment on it, no matter what your achievements are.

        1. @passingisoverrated My understanding is that Stroll did enough to qualify to be in F1, so that is what he has been doing for the last ten years. As to much more potential, of course that is going to come when he has much more car. Drivers are coloured by their cars. They are limited when the car is rubbish. They look like Champions when the car is the WCC one. We will only know more about Lance’s potential when he is in a better car, which will presumably be next year.

      2. i got a degree, a job and my own place, to live with my own money.
        in terms, it is more than what Stroll did. So what!?

        1. Stroll has two world titles, a job, and can easily afford a place of his own.
          But do you have a beard like his? :p

  17. I took the liberty of looking at the lap time charts at Melbourne and Abu Dhabi, on the basis that consistency in lap times (reducing slightly with reducing fuel load) was a sign of skill. Comparing the two charts, it seems to me Lance’s efforts at Abu Dhabi are better than at Melbourne, so I think he’s within his rights to claim he’s improved.
    He needs to be putting in lots of hours of practice every week between now and Melbourne trying to get fast and consistent lap times.

  18. How does Lance know his potential when he has never been there or achieved that? Its a moving target and in this case for him almost seems like achieving infinity. I find such lofty sentences pretty strange for a sportsman. Being humble enough to take it one step at a time letting results speak is much better option to silence critics. I think even Hamilton will not say he is performing up-to his potential.

    1. @muralibhats It’s hardly a lofty statement. If anything, the things the article quotes him saying makes it sound the opposite of lofty. “Far from reaching my potential” in the sense that he knows he has many areas to improve upon, and based on the progress he has made this year, he believes he can do it.

      1. @neutronstar Agreed and well said.

        @muralibhats Strange comments on your part. Stroll knows he has more potential because he knows what he was able to do in lesser series when he had the car. He knows racing well enough to know the Williams has been a problem and has handcuffed him from showing much. Also strange for you to say LH wouldn’t say these types of things when he has just said that he now wants to go after MS’s record number of Championships and be the goat, at least in numbers anyway. Hardly humble, right? He seems to be wanting us to believe 2018 was his hardest won Championship yet, which implies he is still growing or improving by his own words I guess. Why must Stroll not speak of more potential then?

    2. @muralibhats

      I kind of agree. He’s not shown anything phenomenal in lower categories or any signs that there is more to come. I feel it’s just a ridiculous statement. I mean any driver on the grid could say they are far from reaching their full potential.. especially the ones that are terrible. I think as fans we judge them on performance and not the inflated image they have of themselves.

      I was actually wondering how my employer would react if I just went in to work everyday and was absolutely rubbish at my job, but kept claiming that I have the potential to be great. I wonder how long I would still be employed. The problem is a driver like Stroll will never face the harsh realities of life. So even if he’s far away from his ‘potential’ he’s got no urgency to improve. He can take as much time as he wants to figure things our in life.

      1. @todfod When it comes to the Stroll’s you have the ability to judge Lance on his performance without taking into account his car. If your employer gave you conditions under which it would be impossible to impress him, he’d find himself with a lawsuit if he fired you based strictly on your poor performance, and the judge with all the evidence in front of him would see that indeed you likely had more potential than your work conditions allowed you to show, so no wonder you were telling your employer and the court you are better than he cared to acknowledge.

        No urgency to improve? Right so you can’t even give the guy the human traits of pride and drive and determination. Sad. And disturbing.

        1. @robbie

          If your employer gave you conditions under which it would be impossible to impress him, he’d find himself with a lawsuit if he fired you based strictly on your poor performance, and the judge with all the evidence in front of him would see that indeed you likely had more potential than your work conditions allowed you to show, so no wonder you were telling your employer and the court you are better than he cared to acknowledge.

          Impossible to impress huh…? Lance had an impossible challenge this year? To drive at the standard of an F1 driver while competing in F1 is an impossible challenge? To not line up last on the grid more often than any other driver on the grid is an impossible challenge? How about him showing some respect towards his employer? Instead of constantly appearing disgusted in media interviews regarding his team. Is that too much to ask?
          The guys got as little talent as he has respect for the sport and his team. If I performed as rubbish as Lance did, yes I would get fired. It doesn’t go to courts where I come from.

          Right so you can’t even give the guy the human traits of pride and drive and determination. Sad. And disturbing.

          He’s had two seasons in F1 already… and by the looks of it he could spend another decade trying. I’m sure that should keep you and Stroll family happy.

          What’s sad and disturbing is your empathy towards a driver like that.

          1. @todfod It’s not empathy I feel towards LS, just a sense of reasonableness and reality when I read so many childish and petty comments about him. When you can’t even acknowledge the lack of equipment he had, can’t even see that Sirotkin and Kubica backed up how bad the car was, but you’re clouded by the fact that he comes from money, that’s when I react. You’re being so unreasonable that I will have to see it to believe it when you say if he beats Perez next year you’ll give him credit where it’s due. You’re just full of venom towards the guy so much so that you invent traits such as him not respecting the sport or the team. You just keep coming off as terribly petty on this topic.

          2. @robbie

            I’m not inventing anything regarding his media interviews. Youtube them if you don’t believe me. Then look at how his teammate handled the same questions. And I don’t understand why you can’t believe that I’m judging him without keeping the car in mind. Lance and palmer were terrible last year.. Despite having decent midfield cars. This year Lance was terrible and car was terrible as well.

            I mean honestly.. He was slower than Sirotkin. Who the hell do you think was worse than Lance this year? Hartley? He’s on his way out already.

            I really don’t know how you rate drivers dude… I mean I really don’t know if you turn a blind eye or are your senses of deduction just terrible?

            Are you honestly telling me that he isn’t the worst driver on the grid over the past 2 seasons?

            Please tell me a driver who is lesser deserving of an F1 seat on the grid right now. Please enlighten me.

          3. I think all drivers that qualify and get hired to drive in F1 deserve cars that are of a higher level than the bottom rung teams can currently muster, especially Williams 2018. As do we the paying fans. But that is the state of F1 right now. Otherwise I don’t rate drivers in terms of level of deserving, because that is so subjective. And there are only so many seats. Anybody you think is more deserving of seats would still have to prove their worth, and would still be either handcuffed in poor cars, or have to really prove they can handle the competition once they are in a better situation. I certainly do not sit and verbally demolish drivers just because they are coloured by their terrible cars, and have money. When Lance’s car was marginally better he was a rookie and I’ll always have patience for rookies. When he tried to improve on his rookie season he found the car to be much worse, as has been supported by recent articles on Williams and how deep their current problems go. Trying to compare two drivers in terrible cars, with Sirotkin on average .07 seconds faster yet with Lance the more points in the end, is very difficult. They’ve both simply had too many problems at all times with their cars to even begin to judge. Nor will I sit and assume Lance has a career in F1 for life if he does appear to be worse than his future cars can manage.

  19. Me too Lance…

  20. thank God that daddy can buy you a seat then, cuz i’m sure Stoffel and Sergey too are far from reaching what they can do, but they arent getting another shot on a better team.

  21. Oh Roy Ruddy you ain’t the brightest bulb on the tree, are you. you just have to make a comment about other people opinions even if you totally miss the point they make. Reading to you is kinda like racing is to Lancie. We’re all patiently waiting for you to reach your conversational peak which I expect is far beyond the horizon.

    1. You just made a comment about my opinion.
      Sure go ahead dump on me I dont care, your opinion means nothing to me.
      Have yourself a good holiday.

  22. There are those that decry the very notion that L. Stroll Sr. made the investment (his own money), brokered the deal to save a team in the final hour and managed, against all odds, to keep the team in place, complete the season and allow both Perez and Ocon to finish out the year. In style it would seem. Has he earned the right to choose who sits in the second seat? Definitely.
    While we don’t know the outcome if someone else had purchased the team, but likely it would have been 18 cars on the grid for he second part of the season, Perez and Ocon on a beach some place and next year, Lance still at Williams with Sirotkin driving a (former) Force India car. Two new drivers on board with both Perez and Ocon still unemployed.
    As is oft said, be careful what you wish for. What is in place now may not be ideal, but it is far from the worst it could have been.
    I for one, am looking forward to the new season. What with new aero, drivers moving around, fresh commitments from Honda, Renault and shake-ups at Williams and McLaren. Expectation (hope) is for some major surprises. Less than 8 weeks to the first test.

  23. You just made a comment about my opinion.
    Sure go ahead dump on me I dont care, your opinion means nothing to me.
    Have yourself a good holiday.

  24. First off. This article is not new.
    If stroll sr. Was going to have an article about his son, it certainly wouldnt be this that got the interview.
    I guess now I am supposed to replace that dim bulb on the tree.

  25. If the team gets a sponsor as powerful as Rich Energy, I’m sure Lance can drink his way to the top.
    “a crisp clean taste and high performance.” will for sure propel Haas to greatness.
    Merry Christmas all :)
    @At some point I reckon we need to leave the lad alone.
    Down Under will tell all.

  26. Hard to judge anyone in that Williams seat. What is his potenial? Whatever it is, he has not reached it.

    Maldonado has a win in his collection, but by no stretch of imagination he was a great F1 driver. I think Lance is somewhere there.

    Glimpses of briliance, spectacular starts, but never enough quality to be consistiently great like Max V, Esteban O, or Charles L.

    What other kids are in F1? There are many who are not in F1 anymore. Clearly that is where he would be without a budget.

    F1 is a tough sport, with zero room for almost greats. It is hard to criticize someone who has much greater skill than myself, but when it comes to f1 even a casual observer can spot his lack of talent.

  27. He may be very far from his potential, but he’s even further from F1 potential …

  28. You people are way to harsh on Stroll, it’s not like all that money gave him a better car than everyone else at any point in his young career. He’s still just 20 years old and has come into F1 in the worst car on the grid, give him a chance?
    If at the end of next season having spent it in what will surely be a very quick FI/RP/RPFI/?? car he’s still at the bottom of the driver rankings then yes, sure, slag him off all you want.
    I think many of you fail to appreciate is that all that financial backing just gave him opportunities others won’t get, nothing more, and in fact I’d say that is now to his deficit as he has to deal with all the ‘rich daddy’ stuff probably every day of his life.

  29. I am happy to see Lance talking some common sense, which is not something I have previously associated with him. Here’s hoping this means he will start noticeably bridging the potential gap he identified.

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