De la Rosa does not understand talk of Stroll’s departure: ‘He has every reason to continue’

Pedro de la Rosa does not agree with the criticism that various experts have made against Lance Stroll in recent days. The Aston Martin ambassador says that Stroll has already driven many good races this year and was faster than team-mate Fernando Alonso at times and therefore sees no reason why the Canadian should retire or throw in the towel. ring he would like to throw.

Last week after the Japanese Grand Prix, where Stroll was a huge disappointment, the debate about the Canadian’s position heated up again. While Alonso battled with Mercedes drivers and McLaren driver Oscar Piastri for P6, Stroll didn’t even manage to finish in the points. In addition, the difference in the race was about one minute compared to Alonso, who extended his contract with Aston Martin last week.

Former F1 driver Christian Danner and BBC presenter Harry Benjamin, among others, called for Stroll’s departure. Former world champion Damon Hill would also like to see another driver next to Alonso and in the F1 Nation-podcast The Englishman appoints the perfect replacement for the disappointing Canadian: Carlos Sainz. However, the chance of Stroll being kicked out of Aston Martin is very low, as his father is the owner of the team. Hill recognizes that the decision will have to come from the 25-year-old driver himself. ‘He (Sainz, ed.) can replace Lance (Stroll, ed.) if he decides to play tennis, for example.’

De la Rosa answers

De la Rosa then immediately responded to Hill’s statement. “Why doesn’t Lance continue?”, the Spaniard asked without waiting for the Englishman’s answer. “I mean, he has every reason to stay in the team with all the projects going on now and that’s why Fernando (Alonso, editor) has decided to stay,” said De la Rosa, who disagreed. the idea that Stroll does not work.

“He drove two incredible races in Saudi Arabia and Australia, where he was faster than Fernando in some parts of the race,” said Jos Verstappen’s former team-mate. ‘So come on! Why doesn’t he want to continue? “If you see what’s going on behind the scenes at the factory with the new wind tunnel, and people are joining the team, we’re building an amazing team here for the future,” says De la Rosa, who sees no reason to cut the driver. line to change. ‘I also think driver changes are bad in Formula 1 when you have a strong line-up. And I think the best option is to keep our drivers, because this is the strongest team we can have,” De la Rosa said.