14/08/2025 19:10
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."
