Formula 1 is often as much of a battle against your teammate as it is against the other drivers on the track, and Aston Martin driver [autotag]Lance Stroll[/autotag] knows this all too well.
Stroll’s teammate is no ordinary driver. He has to compete with two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso, who is currently sitting in third place in the World Driver’s Championship after a string of podium finishes early in the year. And while many drivers wouldn’t be entirely honest about their struggles against their teammate, Stroll understands just how things have been at Aston Martin for 2023.
Stroll spoke to Motorsport Magazine‘s Chris Medland, and talked about his deficit to Fernando and what he intends to do after the summer break:
“I think this year is honestly a lot of things that are out of our control that have really affected us. And I think if we have clean weekends, the results will be better. That’s what I honestly believe, but also just getting more out of the car and driving a bit faster because right now Fernando has generally been faster than me. So I have to figure out how to go a little bit faster round the corners. Simple… That’s what we’re here to do, right?”
Although Stroll indeed has been slower than Vettel, his 2023 season has been admirable in a different kind of way. Stroll suffered an injury to both his wrists before the season opener in Bahrain, and he went through an intense process to be ready for it in time for race day. As Medland noted, his recovery from injury overlaps with the car’s best performance, so should it get upgrades for the Dutch Grand Prix, it’s possible his performance will improve.
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