Expert Ralf Schumacher believes that Lance Stroll’s time in Formula 1 is up – he would prefer to see a younger driver in the Aston Martin
You can’t get beaten more decisively by your teammate: Lance Stroll was crushed 0:24 by Fernando Alonso in the internal qualifying duel at Aston Martin in the 2025 Formula 1 season. The Canadian did not qualify ahead of his teammate in a single Grand Prix this year.
Admittedly, the World Championship standings don’t look quite as bad, with Alonso “only” 56:33 points ahead in the past season. Nevertheless, expert Ralf Schumacher believes that Stroll’s time in Formula 1 should slowly come to an end.
“Strictly speaking, it’s no longer acceptable,” he says in Sky’s Backstage Boxengasse podcast about Stroll’s performance, explaining in this context that some younger drivers are much more deserving of a Formula 1 cockpit.
Schumacher cites the new Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli as an example. The six-time Grand Prix winner believes that Fornaroli “did a great job” last season and therefore “belongs in a car like that a thousand times more.”
While Stroll, who remains firmly in the saddle at his father Lawrence’s team, will be entering his tenth season in the premier class in 2026, other drivers such as Fornaroli have not found a regular cockpit. This is a fact that annoys Schumacher.
“But I’m also curious to see what happens there, because honestly, even Lawrence Stroll […] can’t turn a blind eye to the issue,” says the expert, adding: “In my opinion, [Lance Stroll] is also a candidate who shouldn’t really be in Formula 1 anymore.”
In his nine seasons in the premier class so far, Stroll has finished third on the podium three times and also secured pole position in Turkey in 2020. In the World Championship, he has only finished ahead of his teammate once in his Formula 1 career so far.
In 2018, he was ahead of Sergei Sirotkin at Williams with 6:1 points, but apart from that, he lost all internal World Championship duels. It’s a record that, alongside Schumacher, makes many Formula 1 fans doubt whether Stroll still deserves his cockpit in the premier class.