Formula 1: Fernando Alonso is too optimistic about Lance Stroll

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll have been quite the duo to open the 2023 Formula 1 season, and Alonso sees Stroll as the future of the Aston Martin.

Aston Martin newcomer and two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso recently made comments regarding teammate Lance Stroll.

The 41-year-old Spaniard has quite high hopes for the young 24-year-old Canadian, as he sees him leading the Aston Martin team forward for years to come.

He made this clear in a recent interview.

"“I know that I will be in the sport for a few more years. After that, he [Stroll] will lead the team for the next 10 or 15 years.”"

Despite Alonso still being able to achieve podium finishes and driving so well, his career is coming to a close soon. With that, he sees the potential in Stroll and is looking to mentor him as much as he can during his time at Aston Martin.

While Stroll has done well this season and has had his moments in the past, Alonso is getting too ahead of himself when it comes to Stroll’s abilities. Stroll’s results are certainly not enough to label him as a centerpiece of a team for at least the next decade, as Alonso says.

Throughout his seven-year career, Stroll has achieved a total of just one pole and three podium finishes. He has yet to finish a season in the top 10 in the driver standings, though that could this year since he currently sits in eighth place through four races.

However, Stroll being deemed Aston Martin’s Formula 1 future is definitely hasty from Alonso.

Stroll is not currently doing anything particularly special in the AMR23, which has the team well-positioned in second place in the constructor standings.

While he seems to be making strides this season, plenty of people still hold the opinion that he only has a full-time seat in Formula 1 because of his father, Lawrence Stroll.

This stigma that without his father’s money, Lance would not be in the sport has been around since his debut. Reports say Lawrence spent up to $80 million to secure a seat for his son with Williams in 2017.

Like any other sport, Formula 1 is very competitive, even when it comes to maintaining a full-time seat. The number of drivers on the grid who turn out to be a team’s key driver for the long-term is small. From where things stand, Max Verstappen and George Russell are the only drivers who will likely be the centerpieces of their teams’ long-term futures.

Additionally, Alonso’s high praise of Stroll contradicts his own career, in a sense. Despite two world titles and six seasons inside the top three, the 32-time Grand Prix winner has never remained on the same team for more than five seasons.

The Canadian can definitely change fans’ perception of him and drive well enough to make Alonso’s statement come true. But until Stroll makes more significant strides with Aston Martin, it just does not make sense to claim he will be the team’s future.