Walk part of Aston Martin F1’s ‘extreme’ line-up, argues de la Rosa – Motorsport Week

Former Formula 1 driver Pedro de la Rosa believes there is no reason for Lance Stroll to leave Aston Martin as he forms a “strong” relationship with Fernando Alonso.

Stroll has endured a difficult start to the current campaign and failed to progress from Q1 at the final round in Japan as Alonso managed to secure fifth place.

The Canadian has nine points from the first four rounds compared to 24 that Alonso has accumulated, with Aston Martin taking fifth place in the Constructors’ standings.

Despite criticism of his outings in recent seasons, Stroll’s position has been protected thanks to his father’s ownership of the Silverstone team since mid-2018.

However, Carlos Sainz’s presence amid Ferrari’s decision to sign Lewis Hamilton has seemed to suggest that Aston Martin should look for a combination of all Spaniards.

“The idea that Carlos would chase Fernando, I’m not sure if he has the courage to do that,” Damon Hill told the F1 Nation podcast ahead of Alonso’s contract extension.

“I think Pedro is the one to correct me for this, but maybe Lance, if he decides to go play tennis or something, the two Spanish drivers will be a very strong team.”

But de la Rosa, who is an ambassador for Aston Martin, has offered to defend Stroll, claiming that there were times when he overtook Alonso.

The Spaniard also questioned the notion that Stroll could drop enough to keep himself out as the squad ramps up its operations to challenge the elite.

“Why doesn’t Lance continue?” de la Rosa replied to Hill.

“I mean, there is every reason to continue in all teams and projects and that’s why Fernando decided to stay.

“He (Stroll) had two amazing races in Jeddah and Australia where there were some parts of the race where he was faster than Fernando.

“So I mean, come on. Why don’t you want to continue the race?

“If you can see what’s going on behind the scenes at the factory and the new wind tunnel, and the people joining the team, we’re building a great team for the future.”

With Alonso committing his future to Aston Martin on a long-term basis, de la Rosa believes it would be a bad move to disrupt the balance within the team.

“I think also, the changes in the driver lines are bad in Formula 1 if you have a strong line,” he continued.

“And I just believe that the way we have to continue is by keeping our drivers, because that is the strongest team we can be.”