Pedro de la Rosa insists Lance Stroll is an ‘underrated’ driver

New Aston Martin team ambassador Pedro de la Rosa believes Lance Stroll is an “underrated” driver as the two begin to work with each other.

De La Rosa’s arrival at the team was announced last week with Aston Martin creating a new role for the 51-year-old which, among other duties, will see him work with the team’s Driver Development Programme.

Felipe Drugovich became the first signing to the new driver academy and while Stroll is much further along in his career, he will no doubt be looking to draw on both De La Rosa’s and Fernando Alonso’s experience for the 2023 season.

De La Rosa has been complimentary of Stroll’s ability and said he saw him as an “underrated” driver.

“I’m just looking forward to working with them [Alonso and Stroll],” De La Rosa said, as reported by the Race.

“One is 23 years old, and the other one is 41. The combination will be fantastic.

“Fernando will work very well with Lance, because there is this age gap and Fernando is so mature now that they will help each other to become stronger as team-mates.”

Stroll currently trails Sebastian Vettel by 19 points in the 2022 Drivers’ Championship.

Is Lance Stroll harshly treated?

The tag of pay driver is never easy to shake off, no more so than when it is your dad fronting the cash. For Lance Stroll he faces not only that reality but the fact that his father is one of the most prominent team owners on the track.

Stroll has often been the butt of the joke when it comes to Formula 1 fans, but his reputation can, like De La Rosa suggested, be underrated.

The 2023 season will be Stroll’s seventh in Formula 1 having made his debut with Williams in 2017 and in all but one season, his points tally has been in the double digits, suggesting he is not as poor as some would have you believe.

Besides his racing credentials were far better than others who have been parachuted into the sport by their father. He won the 2016 F3 Championship and does have a pole position award at home, something eight of the current F1 drivers cannot claim to have achieved.

This season, he trails four-time World Champion Vettel by 19 points and has bettered his team-mate’s result in two of the last three times both cars have finished.

The comfort net provided by his father does make it unlikely that Stroll will be encouraged to go out and stand on his own two feet any time soon, so to be able to judge his true talent is a difficult task.

Alonso’s arrival at Aston Martin is another challenge for Stroll. Get close, or even beat the Spaniard for points next season and Stroll will have proved his credentials.

Read more: Pedro de la Rosa on how to ‘never have a problem with Fernando Alonso’