Lance Stroll was completely thrashed by new staff mate Fernando Alonso final yr, however has measured up towards him extra convincingly up to now this season. He has already carried out higher on a number of metrics than he managed throughout the entire of final yr.
For instance, Stroll has already out-qualified Alonso 5 occasions this yr, in comparison with simply three the entire of 2023. He’s completed forward 5 occasions in comparison with two and most tellingly has spent 251 laps in entrance of his staff mate, once more greater than he did throughout all the 2023 season.
What’s behind this enchancment? Aston Martin have taken a step backwards from the glory days of final yr, when Alonso accounted for all eight of their podium appearances. The AMR24 will not be as clear an enchancment over its predecessors as, for instance, the W15. Alonso has been particularly pissed off by its typically unpredictable dealing with.
Nonetheless the two-times world champion, F1’s most skilled driver of all time, remains to be main the way in which on each rely. And Stroll tipped the steadiness barely in his favour by ignoring the staff’s instruction to let Alonso previous on the final lap in Hungary, having been waved previous his staff mate a number of laps earlier in his unsuccessful pursuit of Yuki Tsunoda.
Alonso is the newest in a collection of robust staff mates Stroll has been in a position to study from at his father’s staff. How far his enchancment this yr is a results of the teachings he has picked up from the champion alongside him, and the way far it’s a consequence of the staff’s troubles with its newest automotive, ought to develop into obvious within the second half of the season and past, because the pair are set to stay on the staff till no less than 2026.
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Alonso vs Stroll: Season abstract
Alonso vs Stroll: Race-by-race
Unrepresentative comparisons omitted. Destructive worth: Alonso was sooner; Optimistic worth: Stroll was sooner
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