Lance Stroll at the dawn of a renaissance?
For Lance Stroll, the current season seems to mark a turning point. After years of difficulties, the Canadian driver finally seems to have found his cruising speed. From Melbourne to Shanghai, the Aston Martin driver has shown a consistency and optimism that hint at the end of the tunnel.
Since the end of last season, Canadian driver Lance Stroll seems to have reached a new level, displaying increasingly solid performances. He even appears capable of gaining the upper hand over his teammate at Aston Martin. After years spent seeking consistency, he is now demonstrating a certain confidence behind the wheel, along with better race management and an ability to extract the potential of his single-seater.
If the 2023 and 2024 seasons had been largely dominated by Fernando Alonso, the gap between the two Aston Martin drivers has significantly narrowed in recent months. Lance Stroll seems to have learned lessons from his collaboration with the double world champion. This progress is reflected in more consistent qualifications in the top 10 and more frequent finishes in the points.
The Australian Grand Prix, held in Melbourne last week, was an example of his consistency, finishing in 6th place. Exiting at the Q3 door and starting in 13th place on the grid, he was able to take advantage of race incidents and tire strategies to climb back and fight for points. His race management was exemplary, allowing him to preserve his tires and make important overtakes in the final laps.
This weekend, during the Chinese Grand Prix, Lance Stroll confirmed his good form by finishing once again in the points, initially in 12th place, then taking advantage of the errors of other disqualified drivers, finishing 9th. Although the final result does not fully reflect his potential, he showed an average performance in qualifying (14th). This weekend was a sprint format in which Stroll finished 9th after starting from 10th place.
His ability to fight without going off track or causing his opponents to make mistakes seems to have disappeared. But would the situation have changed if Fernando Alonso had not been forced to retire? Not certain, since the Canadian has often been ahead of the Spaniard lately.
Lance Stroll finally seems to have found the key to fully exploit his potential. If he continues in this vein, he could well become a pillar on which Aston Martin can rely and a regular contender for points. But be careful, he has already shown consistency during several Grand Prix in past years before dropping back down the standings.
