Much has been said about Lance Stroll of late, with the Aston Martin driver's future a regular topic of debate after his withdrawal from the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago.
The 26-year-old Canadian pulled out of Spain after a poor qualifying session that would've seen him start P14.
Reports of a supposed outburst followed the news that he would not race and undergo a procedure to correct the hand injury he suffered before the 2023 season.
This led many to wonder if he would be able to take part in his home race in Canada, and even prompted some to wonder if he would simply walk away from the sport altogether.
His poor performances (owning the Formula 1 record for most Q1 exits in history), along with his general attitude in the media have had people wondering if he has the fire to keep going anymore.
However, it's highly unlikely Stroll will walk away. At least not until the 2026 season has concluded.
Why Lance Stroll won't retire, yet
The first thing that makes it unlikely Stroll will walk away is the fact that 2025 is the final year of the current regulations, meaning that 2026 is a wholly unknown situation that could see him more comfortable in the new cars.
The ground effect era has been difficult for some, including some big names such as Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo, and Stroll is no different.
His best season in this era came in 2023 when he finished 10th with 74 points. Incidentally, this is one point back from the best season of his entire career (75 in 2017), but he was still significantly off the pace from teammate Fernando Alonso, who ended the year fourth with 206 points and eight podium finishes.
The new era, however, could be a different ball game and could see Stroll perform better in a car that may suit his driving style more. The possibility of a bounce back in performance could intrigue Stroll and encourage him to stick around longer.
In addition, Aston Martin's hiring of Adrian Newey, who is entirely focused on developing a car that can put the Silverstone team back toward the top of the grid, should have the Canadian salivating at the possibility of having a genuine chance at challenging for podium finishes right out of the gate.
Newey has even helped Aston Martin bring former Red Bull colleague Giles Wood back to Formula 1 to help with the team's simulations and data analysis in their efforts to become a frontrunner. This has come after Newey's comments over the team's tools being weaker and the data in the new simulator not correlating with what is happening on track.
Having this much effort go into the development of next year's car should see Stroll determined to take full advantage and experience something new after years of development struggles have seen Aston Martin slip back down the midfield after so much promise two seasons ago.
While the endless possibilities of next season, including the new regulations and the likelihood of a stronger development program thanks to Newey's involvement, might be enough to persuade Stroll to stick around anyway, his father's significant investment itself may be the ultimate deciding factor.
Lawrence Stroll has financed his son's entire racing career and even bought Force India with the purpose of having his son race and build toward winning a world championship.
With Newey and the way Aston Martin have been building, including the new factory in Silverstone, it would be unacceptable for Stroll Jr. to leave right before the team could start to reap the rewards of such heavy investment and development over the past few years.
Lawrence has done everything with his son in mind and it's unlikely he would simply accept his son's departure right when things could turn a corner and improve on track.
Lance Stroll is likely to remain a fixture in Formula 1 while the new regulations shake out. If things don't look likely to change, however, then there may be little that can be done to persuade him otherwise when all is said and done.