If one were to look at Lance Stroll's motorsport career without any context, you would assume he's an extremely underrated driver who deserves a seat at one of F1's bigger teams. Unfortunately for the Canadian, his father's net worth casts somewhat of a cloud over his achievements. Stroll is a driver who's won a championship in every single formula car category he's competed in bar F1. His second season in the European Formula 3 championship in particular is a stark example of his talent behind the wheel. The Canadian driver won a total of 14 races finishing the championship 187 points ahead of Maximillian Gunther. While on the surface these results may seem like Stroll is a future Formula 1 world champion, it must be noted that he has had opportunities that some of his fellow competitors can only dream about. His billionaire father Lawrence, pretty much owned the Prema Powerteam throughout the duration of Lance's junior career. From gaining seat time through various means, hiring drivers to support his title bid, and driving for the best teams on the grid, Stroll had it all while ascending the ladder. His arrival at Williams in 2017, which some people speculate cost his father a whopping €30 million, was also met with a lot of derision. Despite this, the then 18-year-old had a steady campaign scoring one podium at Baku and finishing just three points behind the significantly more experienced Felipe Massa in the driver's standings. Stroll would outperform his new teammate Sergey Sirotkin in 2018 though the performance of the Williams had tailed off completely, and Sirotkin did outqualify the Canadian 12-8.
Move to Racing Point
With the Williams team in decline, his father would once again take centre stage in the younger Stroll's career, purchasing the Force India team in 2018 and rebranding it Racing Point. Lance would make the shift to the Silverstone-based team once again securing his future, while Esteban Ocon was left to fend for himself. Stroll would have a mediocre 2019, finishing with less than half the points his teammate Sergio Perez attained, though he would score the team's best result of fourth at the German Grand Prix that year. The 2020 season would be a significant improvement for the Canadian. With Racing Point largely mirroring the dominant Mercedes W10, the "Pink Panthers" were consistently at the front of the midfield pack battling McLaren for third place in the constructor standings. Stroll was able to take advantage of the car's pace scoring a podium at Monza before becoming the sport's fifth-youngest pole sitter at the Turkish Grand Prix. He would also add another podium at the Sakhir Grand Prix and while his teammate Perez would once again finish significantly ahead of him in the driver standings, the young Canadian would have his best season to date finishing level on points with the highly-rated Pierre Gasly. Looking at his F1 career through a neutral lens, it would be fair to say that Stroll is a good driver who's performed admirably in midfield machinery. While it would be a stretch to put him alongside the likes of Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, George Russell, or even Lando Norris, Stroll could potentially become a future race winner in Formula 1, if he continues his current rate of improvement. Stroll is certainly not the first and he certainly won't be the last pay driver in F1, however, given what he has achieved, it would only be fair to judge him based on his results, which at the moment justify his place on the grid.
Significant improvement
The 2020 season would be a significant improvement for the Canadian. With Racing Point largely mirroring the dominant Mercedes W10, the "Pink Panthers" were consistently at the front of the midfield pack battling McLaren for third place in the constructor standings. Stroll was able to take advantage of the car's pace scoring a podium at Monza before becoming the sport's fifth-youngest pole sitter at the Turkish Grand Prix. He would also add another podium at the Sakhir Grand Prix and while his teammate Perez would once again finish significantly ahead of him in the driver standings, the young Canadian would have his best season to date finishing level on points with the highly-rated Pierre Gasly. Looking at his F1 career through a neutral lens, it would be fair to say that Stroll is a good driver who's performed admirably in midfield machinery. While it would be a stretch to put him alongside the likes of Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, George Russell, or even Lando Norris, Stroll could potentially become a future race winner in Formula 1, if he continues his current rate of improvement. Stroll is certainly not the first and he certainly won't be the last pay driver in F1, however, given what he has achieved, it would only be fair to judge him based on his results, which at the moment justify his place on the grid.
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