Both his boss and the boss of Mercedes have come to the defense of Lance Stroll, who has come under much criticism lately, after the Canadian was the best Aston Martin in the sprint after Friday’s qualifying session in Austria.
Lance Stroll, who has been trailing Fernando Alonso so far this year, has been hot and cold in recent weeks, but has so far managed to keep up with his regular team-mate over the weekend of the Austrian Grand Prix. On Friday, after Barcelona, he defeated the Spaniard in qualifying for the second time this year, and although Alonso fought back in the sprint heat the next day, Stroll still finished the sprint race in a prestigious fourth place.
It didn’t take long, Alonso was only four-tenths of a second behind at the finish line, but Stroll managed to fend off his attacks.
According to team boss Mike Crack, who has so far criticized Stroll, he can now reconsider.
“This is very good, as there has been a lot of criticism lately. I am very happy that he has now been able to prove his illegality.”
– said the head of Aston Martin.
Although Stroll suggested during the race that they start their battle with the team’s instructions, Aston Martin finally allowed its rivals to fight freely, which is why the Canadian did not finish in front of Alonso.
Stroll built on his domestic success with another successful opening tour. “It was a tough competition. I’m especially pleased with the first victory. When the track started to dry I really cared about keeping the tires alive. The team judged well and made the right decision and fourth place is a good result for us.” – Valuable.
Alonso attacked him this time and Aston Stroll did not protect him
There was an offer again, but no agreement: Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll had a fierce battle this time, and Aston Martin did not interfere.
With his result, Stroll has taken some of the pressure off him, in connection with what he himself admitted at the start of the weekend: Alonso was simply a bit faster than he has been so far, even when he had a good day, so he will have to improve.
Crack maintained that their trust in Stroll had never wavered.
“Because we work with our drivers every day, we know when there is a problem with the car or strategy. There was never a moment where we doubted Lance. And I think that’s proven now.”
Lance’s Picnic (Photo: XPB)Regarding the criticism, he said: “This can be tough. I haven’t spoken to Lance about if he reads these articles, but he shows what a fighter he is. It would be easy to just throw in the towel and give up, but he perseveres and fights. I’m really glad he did so well this weekend.”
It is interesting that Stroll received support not only from his own team. The boss of rival Mercedes, Toto Wolff, also said some kind words about the son of his business partner, Lawrence Stroll.
“The guy beat Fernando today, so he should know how to drive.”
– noted the Austrian, adding that the current result speaks for itself even if Stroll’s season is out of line at the moment. “Even if he was an exception, it still showed that he had this talent somewhere.” confirmed.
