Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has questioned if Canadian driver and three-time podium finisher Lance Stroll is even motivated to be an F1 driver. Stroll’s future has been a very contentious topic for many in the paddock. The driver debuted in F1 at a very young age with Williams.
He got a podium in his very first season and has since got a couple of strong results in the bag. The driver has hardly turned heads with his performance. In the eyes of many, he’s only part of the sport because his father Lawrence Stroll has bought Force India and rebranded it to Aston Martin.
The driver has not shown the level of maturity and improvement that you expect from someone who has been racing in F1 for close to a decade now. To add to this, his level of performance has been poor.
That pattern has continued this season as well and many questioned Stroll’s future and motivation to be a part of the Aston Martin project. Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko was also asked about this by the Canadian publication Le Journal de Montreal, to which the Austrian questioned if the driver was even motivated to be in F1.
Marko said:
“I remember his very good race leading up to his podium in Baku with Williams in 2017, and I remember him taking pole position from us (Red Bull) in Turkey in 2020. Since then, he’s had his ups and downs. Some very good races and some very ordinary ones. I wonder if he really wants to be a driver and if he works very hard to achieve good results.”
He added:
“It’s difficult to say, because I don’t know him well enough and I’m not close enough to him to really judge his efforts. I’ve watched him. He has his ups and downs.”
Irrespective of Red Bull chief’s claims, Lance Stroll reaffirms his commitment to F1
Contrary to the questions raised by Red Bull’s Helmut Marko, Lance Stroll reiterated his commitment to be an F1 driver and be a part of the project.
Talking to the media, the Canadian looked back at the journey that the team has had since the Racing Point days and felt that the growth and progress were tangible. He said:
“It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come as a team for the last five years. I’ve grown so much as a team since we were in pink colours. We have a very exciting wind tunnel that’s being built, we have an incredible facility that’s now in Silverstone that we moved into last year, so there’s a lot of pieces of this puzzle that are really coming together.”
He added:
“Along with the talented people that have been in service for many years, a lot of new talented people have joined and are joining, which makes this project very exciting. So, in my mind, you know, definitely here for the future. That’s where my head’s at. For sure, I’m committed to this whole project.”