Guenther Steiner takes aim at ‘non-existent’ Lance Stroll with ‘weird’ trend identified
Guenther Steiner says Lance Stroll has become ‘non-existent’
Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says Lance Stroll is “just non-existent” with the Aston Martin passing “completely under the radar” in F1 2024.
Stroll is currently in his eighth season in Formula 1, having arrived on the grid as a teenager with Williams ahead of the 2017 campaign.
Guenther Steiner: Lance Stroll is ‘just there’
Despite claiming three podium finishes, as well as a pole position at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, the Canadian has been frequently dismissed as a pay driver due to his father Lawrence Stroll’s ownership of the Aston Martin team.
Stroll has been largely overshadowed by Fernando Alonso since the two-time World Champion joined Aston Martin last season, with the 25-year-old trailing his experienced team-mate by 38 points with six races of F1 2024 remaining.
Appearing on the Red Flags podcast, Steiner has accused Stroll of being “non-existent” with the Aston Martin driver doing little to stir the excitement of fans.
Lance Stroll vs Fernando Alonso: Aston Martin head-to-head stats for F1 2024
F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between team-mates
F1 2024: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
And he suggested that the youngster simply goes through the motions when he does not have a competitive car at his disposal, with Stroll waiting to see if F1 2025 brings an improvement for Aston Martin.
He said: “Lance passes completely under the radar. It’s weird.
“You never speak good or bad about him, he’s just non-existent.
Put to him that F1 fans have just accepted Stroll being around, he added: “Exactly.
“I don’t think he’s a bad race car driver. I don’t know what it is.
“Obviously, we all know that he doesn’t need to drive a race car. He alright [financially], so maybe that’s what it is.
“If the car is not [good enough] to [reach] the podium or something, he’s just like: ‘Yeah, I just get by. Who cares? I wait until next year’s car comes and see if that is better.’
“I don’t know. I don’t know the guy, never spoke with him, so I have no idea.
“But he’s one of these guys who is rarely spoken about when he’s in the points.
“It’s less spoken about when he’s not in the points. He’s just there.
“If you wouldn’t have brought him up, I wouldn’t have even known that he raced last weekend.
“I need to go and check the stats because he’s just non-visible.
“He was never young, he will never be old. He will just be there. He’s above the rules.”
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