Lance Stroll talks about his new partner in the Aston Martin team.
Lance Stroll will be Fernando Alonso’s partner in the Aston Martin team during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The Canadian, who is the son of the owner of the team, has spoken openly about the Spaniard, whom he confesses he has not known much to date personally.
Despite this, Stroll is excited to team up with one of the most talented drivers on the grid. Lance believes that the very high level that Alonso always offers will make him improve his performance, and beating him will taste special.
“It’s not fun to drive without anybody pushing you or putting pressure on you,” Stroll told Motorsport.com, when asked about Alonso joining the team. “I think what you want is a teammate who is at the peak of his talent. This means that when you get past him you’re in a great personal moment, and vice versa.”
“When you don’t make the most of what you have or can do, that’s what doesn’t allow you to sit back and relax. You have to try harder,” says the 24-year-old. “I think that’s what the team wants as well, that they know that you are pushing each other and always getting the most out of the car and the whole package in general.”
Stroll and Alonso have had a couple of run-ins since they both shared a track in Formula 1. The most recent took place at last year’s United States GP, where a surprising move by Stroll when the two were paired up in the middle of the straight, caused a clash. Spanish accident.
Earlier, at the 2018 US GP, Alonso also suffered a touch with the Canadian that forced him to retire.
“We’ve already spent some time together, just talking and things like that, like at the driver’s parade and all that. He’s a good guy and a great driver, as well as a great talent,” Lance said of Alonso.
His experience as Vettel’s teammate at Aston Martin
Stroll has shared a team at Aston Martin for the past two years with Sebastian Vettel, who managed to beat him in both seasons, albeit in 2022 by just nine points. “It’s always interesting and exciting when someone like him, or like Seb, comes to the team and has different ideas, drives in a different way, or maybe wants different things in the car,” he said.
“It’s been a lot of fun. I mean, he’s been a very tough competitor in the car, but I think he’s made me understand and see things differently, like the way to get to the weekend, the way to adapt my ethics job and be a better racing driver in general,” he said.
“I’ve definitely learned a lot from him in that regard, just watching how he does his stuff. He’s also helped a lot to push the team forward, and he’s brought some ideas from his past experience with other race-winning teams like Ferrari and Red Bull. “He pointed out, before defining Vettel as “an incredible person outside of the car”.
Stroll has been in Formula 1 since his debut with Williams in 2017. Two years later, with discreet results but after achieving an unforgettable podium in Azerbaijan, he signed for Racing Point after the acquisition of Force India by his father, Lawrence Stroll. Since 2022, this team has been Aston Martin, where we will see him compete alongside Fernando Alonso from the Bahrain GP.