2024 F1 Season Will Be A Big Test For Lance Stroll

A lot of talk in the current firmament of Formula 1, and perhaps understandably so, surrounds Sir Lewis Hamilton’s forthcoming Ferrari move, something that will spring to life in the next championship season. And when not discussing that big development, there are many who curiously await the launch of the forthcoming F1 title contenders; the machines from the Mercedes or Ferrari stables. But while the impassioned fan keenly awaits the next few days with a bated breath, what one can’t possibly undermine is the sheer importance that the soon-to-begin season holds for a certain Lance Stroll.

Wouldn’t you agree?

As a matter of fact, in a matter of few races, the Montreal, Quebec-born Stroll shall be competing in his 150th F1 Grand Prix entry.

And quite frankly, he’d want to put together quite a show for that moment because, after all, it is no small moment for an F1 driver who breaches what is clearly a milestone.

As Lance Stroll’s teammate Fernando Alonso himself had put it back in the day, “It is everyone’s dream to be a Formula 1 racing driver. Most dream to just have one race in the biggest echelons of Motor Sport.”

Here, for that matter, is a driver who’s approaching a big number. 150 races at the top of the sport but unfortunately, sans even a single win.

That’s not a pretty number.

However, that is not the only reason why Lance Stroll would want to perform well. Last year, Lance Stroll of Aston Martin stood tenth overall in the championship. And that precisely is the burning issue, which perhaps explains why the Canadian needs to pack a serious punch in the top most level of Grand Prix racing.

Think of it closely and you’d realise that as of 2023, Lance Stroll managed a paltry P10 in the end despite driving an Aston Martin.

The great Fernando Alonso, who was also paired with the same Aston Martin machine, managed to scale some heights and scored a fourth in the end. As a matter of fact, Stroll failed to collect a single podium despite having the opportunity of taking part in each of the 22 races that were held. And on the other hand, Fernando Alonso scored seven podiums from the Grands Prix held last year. That’s an average of scoring one podium in every third race.

Such glaring disparity in the results of the elderly statesman and the young, but talented racer leave a lot to be desired. They clearly point to the big area of improvement that Stroll must undertake.

The Lance Stroll predicament

In a career that began, lest it is forgotten, in 2017, but one where Stroll didn’t take long to collect a podium, the sport has afforded the driver seven straight seasons at the top draw of Motor-racing. And while it’s not that Lance Stroll has not tried for he’s collected three podiums so far, it can be felt that the Canadian hasn’t really done enough to keep a lot many interested in his career.

While he has to his credit a great machine and also excellent backing in that his father funds the team he currently works with, on his own, Lance Stroll has to deliver. And he has got to deliver now. Moreover, what possible excuse can he possibly offer now that Aston Martin have produced a belter of a machine?

Time and tide wait for none, we’ve heard. And it appears, they certainly won’t for Lance Stroll who must realise the ticking time bomb he’s strapped against. There are far too many talented names around the sport that could be kept away for long such as Liam Lawson who we saw very little of last year. Isn’t it?