Lance Stroll reveals his blueprint to deal with ‘short-minded’ critics

If Lance Stroll did “buy into” the “noise” created by critics, then it would definitely affect him. Fortunately for the Aston Martin driver, he does not.

Stroll is a driver who often sparks debate by his presence on the grid, some arguing whether – despite his three podiums and a pole position – the seat is earned. But, Stroll values the opinions of the “good people” around him, and not the critics voicing their displeasure.

Lance Stroll: ‘Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from’

Despite a trophy-laden junior career, Stroll has often found himself competing in Formula 1 under a cloud of debate over whether he earned his way into the sport. That is due to the role of his father Lawrence Stroll in his career.

Fresh off dominating the 2016 Formula 3 field, Stroll arrived on the F1 grid as an 18-year-old with Williams. He later went on to join his father’s Racing Point team, which became Aston Martin in its current form.

While Stroll does not have the best record against his F1 teammates, it must be placed into context. Multi-time World Champions Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, plus 11-time grand prix winner Felipe Massa, feature among the names that Stroll has gone up against.

Stroll has shown flashes of brilliance in his career, including his first podium with Williams in Baku, in what was his rookie 2017 campaign. Securing his maiden pole at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix was another highlight. Yet, consistently producing such form has been an issue for Stroll, with some questioning whether he deserves his F1 seat, independent of his father’s backing.

As part of an in-house Aston Martin interview on the team’s YouTube channel, Stroll opened up on his blueprint for dealing with criticism.

“I like to see it as just noise,” he said. “If I buy into it, it bothers me, for sure, but that’s where I am fortunate.

“I have good people around me that I love, that I trust, and I put my attention and value their opinions. I try and live in my world, not the world in that sense.

“There’s always going to be criticism. People are very short-minded. You have a couple of good races, you’re great. You have a couple of bad ones, you suck. That’s never going to change.

“That’s why being surrounded by important people and valuing the opinion of people that you care about, that you value, that you really know their opinion, is what matters.

“Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from.”

Lance Stroll vs Fernando Alonso in F1 2025

? F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

? F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Stroll was therefore asked for his process to deal with the difficult weekends.

Aston Martin is a team chasing title glory, but the road has been tough in F1 2025. The team sits seventh in the Constructors’ Championship with six rounds to go.

“That’s the thing. We can talk about the podium and the poles, but let’s talk about the losses,” said Stroll. “I think that’s where you learn the most about yourself and to grow from those tough moments.

“I think that’s where you really grow as a person, as an athlete, driver, from those struggles, from those hard days. What can you learn from it. How can you come back next week and be better.

“We all love the highs. We all love the champagne celebrations. But, it’s really in those hard moments, those tough times, that we learn the most about ourselves and we grow.”

For a driver like Stroll, who has had to deal with more than his fair share of criticism, staying in the best mental space possible is vital.

He was asked what measures he puts in place in his life, to position his mental health in the best place it can be.

“I think structure and consistency is really important,” he said.

“I try to just stay consistent with my routine on the track, off the track. So the training, the mental prep, what am I focusing on going into this weekend. What are the challenges ahead, what are the conditions like.

“And then I think just also that disconnection. I think that balance between thinking about racing a lot, the weekend ahead, and then also taking time when we’re not racing, like little days off, to just switch off the brain, recharge, reset, and then get back into it.

“Balance is key. I mean, I think about golf a lot, and you just see, like, their sport is the perfect example of you can get so obsessed with your swing and everything you’re doing, but then there’s like that time to kind of switch off a bit and just come back tomorrow and take a swing at it.”

Stroll sits 13th in the current Drivers’ Championship standings, four points behind Alonso.

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