Lawrence Stroll urged to 'let his son go' in Aston Martin championship pursuit

Ralf Schumacher has encouraged Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll to drop his son, Lance Stroll, from the team's driver line-up to win the F1 constructors' championship.

The German believes that if Stroll Snr. is "serious" about attaining title glory, he must "completely rethink the driver pairing" at the Silverstone squad.

Stroll Jnr. has raced for his father since leaving Williams at the end of the 2018 F1 season, but his performance has been widely criticised throughout his time in the championship.

To some, he is a product of nepotism and not deserving of his place on the grid, with other young talent unable to find a home in the F1 paddock.

Despite the fact that he has shown flashes of pace and undeniable talent, and has a pole position and three podiums to his name, he is often judged by his doubters to not produce at the required level on a consistent enough basis.

Schumacher, who has at times been overly critical of Stroll, is one of the voices calling for the Canadian to be sidelined, and the former Jordan, Williams, and Toyota driver thinks Aston Martin should make a change for 2026, despite both its drivers being contracted for the year.

To illustrate his argument, Schumacher highlighted the 26-year-old's recent qualifying record against Fernando Alonso, with Stroll having been unable to outperform his team-mate in grand prix qualifying since the British Grand Prix in 2024, 27 rounds ago.

"If he [Lawrence Stroll] really wants to become world champion, he has to let his son go," the 50-year-old told German publication BILD.

"Lance's 27-0 qualifying loss to his team-mate Fernando Alonso says it all."

What Schumacher omitted from his remarks is that Stroll has scored the same number of points as the Spaniard this season, with both chipping in 26 apiece at the summer break.

But whilst the pair are more evenly matched in output than in seasons past, the six-time grand prix winner feels Aston Martin needs to reassess its direction as it builds towards F1's new regulations era.

Stroll Snr. has invested significantly in the team in recent years, and the ambitious project has already seen state-of-the-art facilities developed, as well as Adrian Newey joining the operation as technical managing director and Honda coming on board as Aston Martin's works power unit partner.

However, whilst Schumacher acknowledges how difficult a decision it would be, he feels it is necessary for the team to reach its potential.

"The father has to decide: gut feeling or success. If he's serious, he'll have to completely rethink the driver pairing for 2026.

"I think he knows that, but the decision is difficult for him."