Support for Stroll as ex-racer casts doubt on F1 commitment

As Lance Stroll crashed on his F1 return, Timo Glock urged Aston Martin to drop the Canadian ahead of F1 2026 as he is “not where he needs to be”.

Stroll is currently contesting his ninth season in Formula 1, with the Canadian having achieved one pole position and three podiums in his 174 starts.

Should Aston Martin continue with Lance Stroll?

Stroll has scored all but two of Aston Martin’s F1 2025 points, but questions have been asked about his commitment to Formula 1 following his withdrawal mid-way through the Spanish Grand Prix.

Aston Martin announced: “Over the course of the past six weeks Lance has been experiencing pain in his hand and wrist, which his medical consultant believes is in relation to the procedure he underwent in 2023.

“As a result, his medical team have confirmed that he will not race tomorrow and he will undergo a procedure to rectify these issues before focusing on his recovery.”

But as Stroll returned to the track for the Canadian Grand Prix, he defended his team as he revealed it was his decision to continue racing despite the pain he was feeling.

“I started to feel some pain in my wrist and hand a couple of months ago, but I wanted to keep racing,” he said in the build-up to the Montreal race. “However, the discomfort just became too much, and we made the decision to have medical intervention.

“Naturally, I was disappointed to miss the race in Barcelona, but it was the right call at the time, and I’m looking forward to getting back to racing this weekend.”

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Alas, he joined Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in finding the barrier during the opening day’s running in Canada.

The 26-year-old’s FP2 was cut short when he hit the wall coming out of Turn 7, crushing the front-left steering arm on his Aston Martin.

Asked on Sky Deutschland whether Aston Martin should continue with Stroll next season, Glock offered a blunt response: “No.

“Sporting-wise, he’s definitely not where he needs to be after his long time in Formula 1. He has had relatively clear defeats and hasn’t been able to convince with consistency this year, either.

“There’s always a weekend where he seems to be catching up with Fernando Alonso. But over the course of a whole year, he’s simply too far behind [and] too inconsistent. He then makes the mistakes accordingly.

“In the current situation, you would have to reposition yourself to be successful.”

Glock’s position is far from universal with Haas’ Esteban Ocon, suggesting Stroll’s quiet public persona offers a false impression.

“I know he doesn’t talk much,” Ocon told Le Journal de Montreal.

“He confides more in people he trusts. But he’s a really lovely person. And so is his dad.

“People may not understand this, but Lance is passionate about racing like no other.

“Everything else interests him less because what he likes is driving the car.”

Ocon also defended Stroll’s right to be on the F1 grid, citing the Canadian’s successful junior career against a host of F1 winners.

“Lance is someone who won international karting races when there was [Max] Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, myself. We were all fighting together and Lance was in that group,” he insisted.

“It’s not true that money got him there. Not at all.

“Maybe, yes, there are easier ways to get to F1, but in the end, there’s no money with you in the car.”

Aston Martin have Stroll under contract for F1 2026, the team revealing he had signed for ‘2025 and beyond’ while Alonso, who broke his points duck at the Barcelona race, has also been confirmed for next season.

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