Former F1 world champion directs Lance Stroll to ‘end Fernando Alonso’s career’ and establish himself as ‘undisputed king’ at Aston Martin
Lance Stroll is currently being dominated by teammate Fernando Alonso this season
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Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso
Damon Hill, former world champion turned pundit, has advice for Lance Stroll surrounding the future of his career. He suggested that Canadians have greater ambition and strive to be serial winners, beginning with the ending Fernando Alonso’s career. The Brit was already left impressed by Stroll’s ambition at the premiere of the season, taking P6 despite adverse injuries. His strong belief is that Stroll must now look to push Alonso to his limit and establish himself as the number one driver on the team to further his career.
The former F3 world champion has a very secure seat at Aston Martin, due to strong family ties and investments in the team by his father. He is currently being bested by his veteran teammate Fernando Alonso in every aspect and is yet to step on the podium this season despite driving a top 3 car. Despite the contrast in experience, the expectations Stroll sets for himself must be greater than what they currently are, and he should aspire to beat Alonso altogether.
Hill said in the F1 Nation Podcast following the Australian GP, “It [his form] has to be maintained, sustained over time – it’s no good, just a blip, a one-off event. He’d have to set his goal as ending Fernando Alonso’s career. Now that sounds brutal, but that’s what George Russell is trying to do [against Lewis Hamilton]. That’s what Nico Hulkenberg is trying to do with [Kevin] Magnussen – you have to establish yourself as the undisputed king, number one in that team.” He proceeded to praise Lance Stroll’s natural ability and stated that he didn’t have the makings of a future world champion yet.
Damon Hill voiced his solution for Lance Stroll to avert a mediocre career, insisting, “If he really wants to know the answer, then he’d have to go and drive for a different team. Then he’d escape all those issues, and he’d have to sink or swim.”. He believes this is the only solution for the Canadian should he fail to achieve anything substantial at his current team, and this can only start by dethroning Alonso as the number one.
Lance Stroll must pressure Alonso, similar to George Russell’s approach at Mercedes
Lance Stroll has endured a tough start to 2023. The Aston Martin is a formidable car this year and has the makings of a potential title contender. Stroll’s teammate Fernando Alonso is already exploiting this unexpected improvement and has secured 3 podiums on the trot, contrary to his own results this season. He has scored just 20 points in contrast to Alonso’s 45 and must look to beat him to prove his ambition.
He has been advised to adopt a similar strategy to the likes of that being used by George Russell at Mercedes, who is currently overwhelming his teammate, the veteran Lewis Hamilton. Russell consistently out-qualified Hamilton in 2022, as well as provide better and more consistent race results. He is making the 7-time world champion appear a shadow of his former self and is firmly trying to establish himself as the number one driver at the Silver Arrows. Russell outscored Hamilton last year by 35 points and even secured a win, something the latter couldn’t achieve for the first time in his career.
Stroll currently stands far away from being able to challenge his teammate, who seems to be in another league altogether. However, if he wishes to further his success in F1, he must take initiative and take the fight to Alonso and create a similar power shift in Aston Martin as in Mercedes. He undoubtedly possesses the potential to do so and must make life tough for the Spaniard currently in devastating form.
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Justin P Joy
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