Lance Stroll explains why he won’t leave Aston Martin for rival F1 team

Lance Stroll is expected to stay at Aston Martin in 2025

Lance Stroll may be the epitome of a pay driver – his father even bought an F1 team for him, after all – but the Aston Martin driver has no interest in joining a rival team to shake off that label.

Arriving on the Formula 1 grid in 2017 after his father Lawrence reportedly paid Williams $80 million, Stroll has shown signs of pace interspersed by mediocrity, even apathy.

No confirmation, but also no plans for Lance Stroll to leave Aston Martin

So much so questions have been asked about the Canadian and whether he genuinely wants to be in Formula 1. There was even a rumour, denied by the driver and Aston Martin, that he was considering swapping his helmet for a tennis racquet.

This season the 25-year-old is once again on the back foot against his team-mate Fernando Alonso, trailing the Spaniard by 41 points to 17 in the Drivers’ standings.

Coming on the back of his huge defeat to the double World Champion in their first season together in F1 2023, it hasn’t done anything to negate the pay driver tag that hangs over Stroll’s head.

“It’s part of it. It’s kind of just what my career’s been,” he told The Canadian Press. “I’ve dealt with that over the years, but I do my talking on the track.”

How Lance Stroll is faring against Fernando Alonso in F1 2024

F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between team-mates

F1 2024: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Stroll, though, has no interest in leaving Aston Martin, the team his father bought in 2018, just to silence his detractors.

“No, not really,” he replied.

“We’re on a super exciting trajectory and project as Aston Martin. I’m much more excited to be part of this journey than just going to another team to say that I could be driving somewhere else.”

As such “the plan” is to continue as Alonso’s team-mate for the F1 2025 season.

“That’s the plan,” he added. “It’s the very early days with stuff to be decided for next year, but I’m super committed to being here.”

Although Aston Martin have yet to confirm Stroll, team boss Mike Krack made it clear after Aston Martin re-signed Alonso that Stroll won’t be going anywhere.

“We also know that Aston Martin is Lance’s home,” he said. “We know that and the whole project has always been around him.

“So we look for continuity. I’ve always said that is very important. So we will see in the next weeks.”

Read next: Should F1 2026 rules be delayed after Canadian GP revealed potential of current regulations?