Jacques Villeneuve believes that his Canadian compatriot Lance Stroll has been the main reason for Fernando Alonso’s success at Aston Martin this season.
While the Spanish has ruled Stroll in the first 14 races of the 2024 season and leads his teammate in the qualifying stats by nine to six, Villeneuve suggests Stroll has performed better than Alonso since last April, when the latter extended his contract with the Silverstone team.
Late last year, after a campaign in which Stroll largely ruled through Alonso, many thought it was time for Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll to upgrade his son.
But Villeneuve insists that Stroll Sr. has earned the right to keep his son in the second seat of his team. The 1997 F1 world champion explained why.
“Lance Stroll is one of the drivers who most deserves to continue competing in F1 because his father bought the team,” Villeneuve told InstantCasino. com.
“Of course he deserves to be there. The Aston Martin team may have gone bankrupt without Lawrence Stroll, so he deserves to hire his son and keep him in F1, simple. »
Although he recognizes Stroll’s privileged position, Villeneuve affirms that the Canadian has behaved at Alonso’s level.
He highlights the 43-year-old F1 veteran’s struggles after Aston’s failed upgrades and mentions that Stroll finished ahead of the Spaniard in 3 of the last 4 races before the summer break.
“Lance is the last and late, he corresponds to Fernando Alonso’s point,” he continued.
“The moment Alonso re-signed with the team, he struggled and Lance has looked like the biggest driving force ever since.
Unsurprisingly, Stroll’s strong performances have earned the 25-year-old a contract extension with his father’s team. However, Villeneuve warns his compatriot that he has yet to prove himself to her.
“Lance knows he’s in F1 because his father bought the team, now he has to prove he’s fast,” Villeneuve said.
“You will have to realize that there have been other millionaire drivers who have had the same privileges, such as Ayrton Senna, Niki Lauda and Lando Norris.
“Lance is lucky, but that’s okay and he has to prove he can run fast. “
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