You don’t change in Aston Martin. In addition to the already confirmed Fernando Alonso, who has a contract until the end of the 2026 season, the owner of the English team, Lawrence Stroll, has also extended the agreement with his 25-year-old son Lance. Having lost some opportunities to hire quality drivers (in reality never sought), Aston Martin preferred, for obvious reasons, to keep the disappointing Stroll junior, thus leaving the 43-year-old (next July 29) Alonso with the task of bringing results. For the Spaniard, an optimal situation as since he joined Aston Martin he has consistently (and soundly) beaten Stroll.
It was thought that Lawrence Stroll sooner or later wanted to strengthen his Aston Martin by hiring a reference driver in addition to the Spaniard, but in the end nepotism won. Surprising for a hugely successful businessman like Mister Lawrence. The son had the best moments of his career in the early years of F1, placing third in Baku in 2017 with Williams and third also in Monza and Sakhir in 2020 with Racing Point (as well as poleman in Istanbul 2020), a team already owned by father after he took over Force India.
In 2021, with Sebastian Vettel teammate at the start of the Aston Martin adventure in F1, Stroll had defended himself well, obtaining practically the same points as the four-time world champion. Then, the collapse. In 2022, a first breakthrough with Vettel who “doubled” the points obtained by the Canadian. With the growth in Aston Martin’s competitiveness, in 2023 the newcomer Alonso scored 206 points against Stroll’s 74, an abysmal difference that cost the team dearly, only fifth in the constructors’ championship when it could also have aimed for third place in the final.
This year, with “Verdona” having lost in performance, Alonso still boasts 41 points after ten races, Stroll just 17. Alonso has entered the points zone on seven occasions, reaching Q3 seven times, Stroll has finished in the top four times ten in the race and only passed Q2 three times. Numbers that would hardly have allowed him a contract extension if he were racing for any other team. Doors closed therefore for Felipe Drugovich, tester and third driver for two years, or for Jak Crawford who had recently tested the Aston Martin.
