We take a look at Lance Stroll’s F1 career to date

Lance Stroll's Formula One career to date - we take a look at the numbers

The dark green Aston Martin of Lance Stroll
Pictured on the track is the 2022 Aston Martin of Lance Stroll. Photo: Lukas Raich / Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FIA_F1_Austria_2021_Nr._18_Stroll_(side).jpg and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)

When breaking down Lance Stroll’s career in F1 by numbers, it makes for some interesting reading.

The Aston Martin driver initially promised so much in the beginning – but things seem to have been difficult for Stroll lately.

In Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, the Canadian finished 15th following a collision involving himself and Alpha Tauri racer Pierre Gasly.

So far this season, he has only collected two points from six races – which included three pointless GPs to start the year off.

Since joining the sport in 2017, Stroll has become something of an internet meme – with comments being made about the Aston Martin driver almost every day there is a Formula One race taking place.

But why is this? And what are the numbers behind the driver?  

Let’s look at some statistics. Pierre Gasly and Stroll both joined the sport in 2017 for similar-sized teams in Toro Rosso and Williams.

Since then, the Frenchman Gasly has only failed to qualify from Q1 four times – Stroll has failed to qualify from Q1 51 times. That is an astronomical difference.

Even if you take away the 12 races that Gasly spent at Red Bull, it is strange that there is such a colossal difference in the two’s qualifying performances. 

If we all also look at first lap retirements (FLR) which are almost always down to driver error/a racing incident – he has four to his name which, barring this season, so far means he has collected one per season.

However, comparing this to Gasly’s three FLR’s makes it not so grim reading for fans of Lance.  

The DNF’s (Did Not Finish) are also very similar between the two, with Stroll just edging Gasly out by 19 to 17 in total

Three of those came in his debut season in 2017, where Stroll retired in his first three races – with two of them due to collisions with other drivers.

It took him seven races to finally get some points on the board – finishing the Canadian Grand Prix in tenth place

However, in the same calendar year, he was the youngest ever rookie to get a podium (Azerbaijan, Baku), the youngest ever front row starter and Stroll gained more positions than anybody else. 

So, in this regard, he had a very promising first year in the sport. 

Fast forward to the present day (post the Spanish GP) and, in the last four years, he has only achieved two more podiums and zero race wins.

In 2018, he only had one Q3 appearance and in 2019 in the Racing Point, he was out-qualified 18 times out of 21 by teammate Sergio Perez.

In 2020, he had a career-high DNF streak by not finishing in four consecutive races.

In 2021, he could only muster a best finish of sixth, whereas his teammate Sebastian Vettel finished 2nd in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The question is though – is Stroll better than the current crop of F2 drivers – or perhaps some other drivers waiting in the wings?

Earlier this season, former Renault driver Nico Hülkenberg came in and finished higher than Stroll in practice and qualifying despite being given less than 24 hours’ notice about stepping in for the absent Vettel.

Stroll bettered Hülkenberg’s 17th place with a 12th placed finish – but could he be in line to replace him? 

 

In F2, the highly sought-after Oscar Piastri would be the obvious pick.

He’s already won a championship in his division, collecting six wins and 11 podiums along the way.

While he is contracted to Alpine, a deal could be struck like the Red Bull and Williams one with Alex Albon where we see Piastri effectively “loaned” to Aston Martin for a season.

So where does this leave Stroll – a once up-and-coming driver who showcased his talents early on?

Time – and the rest of the F1 2022 season – will tell.