Stroll Aiming For Podiums This Season

[Paul Jeffrey]

New Racing Point driver Lance Stroll thinks podiums are possible in the new Mercedes powered RP19 - and sets his personal targets on achieving just that.

Having already stood on the podium for Williams at the chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix back in 2017, 20-year-old Lance Stroll believes that nothing less than a return to the rostrum in 2019 should be seen as a success for himself and the team, with Racing Point entering a new era under fresh ownership and with a substantial injection of funds to the once struggling outfit.

"My goal is to get back on the podium in 2019 as well. I’ve seen what this team achieved in the past and it’s a real credit to the people involved. ​

"I’m looking forward to making our own history.”
​

With the top places in Formula One hard to come by thanks to the recent dominance of both Mercedes and Ferrari at the front of the field - in fact only Red Bull managed to break that stranglehold last season, and with a strong team mate in the form of Sergio Perez, it will be a tough ask for Stroll to achieve those aims in the year ahead.

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Do you think Lance Stroll can score a podium position in 2019?

 

[Michel Bélisle]

Sport Pesa Racing Point?
A bit of a bummer, I was hoping for Racing Point Force Canada. Oh well...

 

[apex11]

Well basically if Stroll thinks that car is good enough for podiums then on that logic Perez will be winning races...
Not going to happen unless Merc and Ferrari break....

To add that is even if Perez has the same performance in the car as Stroll.....

Stroll is a nice neat package of ALL that is wrong with F1 / car racing..... like the pinnacle of rich kids and rich gentlemen cluttering up the 'sport'...

 

[Durge Driven]

I get the aiming
What I don't understand how is he going to hit the podium ?
He would need a ramp to do that ?

 

[apex11]

I don't understand how is he going to hit the podium ?
He would need a ramp to do that ?

I imagine his Dad will buy him one..

 

[Jan Larsen]

The only upside to Strololol is that daddy's money cant propel him any further up the order now.

 

[Matt Y]

Strololol

Lol

 

[howitzer155mm]

As opposed to his previous goals of not winning (I guess). "Alright boys, our current strategy isn't working, any ideas?"
Team Principle: Uhhh, what if we just, like, tried winning?
Head Executive: THAT'S BRILLIANT!

 

[Nick Hill]

Stroll is fascinating. In any other sporting field other than Formula 1, he'd be considered a freaky novelty. Within Formula 1, somehow we're all expected to accept him as a legitimate competitor.

 

[F_B]

Stroll is fascinating. In any other sporting field other than Formula 1, he'd be considered a freaky novelty. Within Formula 1, somehow we're all expected to accept him as a legitimate competitor.

And that is exactly what’s wrong with F1: it is all about the money blingbling and not about the talent. Not that that would be something new though…

 

[PawelP]

Lance LOL

 

[Duppy]

Every midfield team will get podiums apparently...
But Stroll is good enough for F1 imo, look at his 2016 Formula 3 campaign.

 

[snyperal]

There's bound to be a few unusual podiums this season. Whether luck will find lance a lot I don't know.

 

[Turk]

Lawrence Stroll: You can be anything you want son.
Lance Stroll: I'm going to win the F1championship.. *runs out door*
Claire-Anne: Why do you keep telling him those things you know he's useless.
Lawrence Stroll: I know, I'm such a bastard, but the look of disappointment on his face when he loses just makes me laugh.

 

[farjam]

Race day :
Checo , it's Lawrence , we have to let lance go , he has a blister

 

[apex11]

Every midfield team will get podiums apparently...
But Stroll is good enough for F1 imo, look at his 2016 Formula 3 campaign.

You obviously haven't, as if you had, you'd see that his Dad funded ex Ferrari F1 mechanics / engineers etc and gave him the best by a mile...and team orders...
Every step of the way his Dad has been able to fund him and get him the best of the best which in Motor'sport' = Wining.....

It's an utter joke really.

"His father, the fashion mogul and billionaire Lawrence Stroll, bought the Prema F3 team and installed well-known Ferrari engineer Luca Baldisserri to oversee Stroll's rise. Young Stroll was then the clear No. 1 driver this year, benefiting from F1 engineers seconded to his F3 campaign and a special simulator installed at Williams' Grove base.

He also embarked on a round-the-world test program with a 2014 Williams, supported by a staff of 20, five Mercedes engineers and two engines prepared specifically by Mercedes. Stroll's F1 test program went to Silverstone, Hungary, Monza, Austria, Barcelona, Abu Dhabi, Austin and Sochi.

Williams' Pat Symonds admits: "The last rookie with that many kilometers of testing for his debut was Jacques Villeneuve."

Not only that, Lawrence Stroll paid for a new high-tech simulator at Williams' race shop, which Williams F1 drivers Bottas and Felipe Massa could not use throughout the year as it was calibrated for F3.

Lance Stroll told Germany's Auto Bild: "Motorsport is a sport where money is important, of course, so I'm very happy that my father helps me."

 

[Nick Hill]

I'll tell you what I think is at the core of this...someone (can't remember who) right here on RD once told me "F1 has always been about the teams, the fans are the ones who try and make it about the drivers". I, in true me fashion, completely missed the point and disagreed...but in the intervening months, I've come to realize this person (wish I could remember who it was and apologize) was absolutely right. I believe this is where the angst towards Stroll is rooted - a fast guy in a slow car is going to get beat by a slow guy in a fast car (even moreso in modern F1).

As fans, we mostly (self included) want to see the Lance Strolls of the world sent home to play F1 2018 on his PS4...but the reality of it is F1 is all about the R&D money...hiring a quick driver is about getting an extra tenth off your laptime and for those 1 or 2 times per race where a bit of racecraft is required.

As fans then, we can choose between 2 different rationalizations:

"My favorite driver doesn't really matter much"

And

"Look at Stroll's stupid face!!! Argh, so stupid, he's stupid!!!"

 

[Duppy]

You obviously haven't, as if you had, you'd see that his Dad funded ex Ferrari F1 mechanics / engineers etc and gave him the best by a mile...and team orders...
Every step of the way his Dad has been able to fund him and get him the best of the best which in Motor'sport' = Wining.....

It's an utter joke really.

"His father, the fashion mogul and billionaire Lawrence Stroll, bought the Prema F3 team and installed well-known Ferrari engineer Luca Baldisserri to oversee Stroll's rise. Young Stroll was then the clear No. 1 driver this year, benefiting from F1 engineers seconded to his F3 campaign and a special simulator installed at Williams' Grove base.

He also embarked on a round-the-world test program with a 2014 Williams, supported by a staff of 20, five Mercedes engineers and two engines prepared specifically by Mercedes. Stroll's F1 test program went to Silverstone, Hungary, Monza, Austria, Barcelona, Abu Dhabi, Austin and Sochi.

Williams' Pat Symonds admits: "The last rookie with that many kilometers of testing for his debut was Jacques Villeneuve."

Not only that, Lawrence Stroll paid for a new high-tech simulator at Williams' race shop, which Williams F1 drivers Bottas and Felipe Massa could not use throughout the year as it was calibrated for F3.

Lance Stroll told Germany's Auto Bild: "Motorsport is a sport where money is important, of course, so I'm very happy that my father helps me."

Yes, but still talent is needed to be able to go out and dominate a series. I do believe that would've benefited from a year in Formula 2 but qualifying like Italy 2017 shows he has the potential to be successful.

 

[apex11]

Yes, but still talent is needed to be able to go out and dominate a series. I do believe that would've benefited from a year in Formula 2 but qualifying like Italy 2017 shows he has the potential to be successful.

But he SHOULD have more than potential for the amount his dad invested in him to this point.. Even just the 1 year in a 2014 Williams with a team of techs dedicated to HIM and a selection of famous tracks to practise on.... come on, after that even without years of karting etc any of us could be at least handy enough to qualify an F1 car.
It's madness. However good he turns out to be, hell even if he is WDC, without his dads billions he'd be like us sat at home on a sim rig... that is fact, even talent needs money in this game...
Maldonardo was backed by a whole country, simply to have someone from there in F1.... i mean look at his record, he could drive a car...but without a countries backing he'd be sat at home on a sim rig..
Even Senna..yes Senna, had rich parents and eventually Brazil paying for his rise whilst people lived in poverty abandoned by the government...
At least he was grateful and gave a lot back to the poor in his home though..
I have grown so disenfranchised with the whole lot of it lately.....

 

[NewOne0]

I get the aiming
What I don't understand how is he going to hit the podium ?
He would need a ramp to do that ?

He could ask Sophia Floersch for some lessons in the air then.