"We as a team are analyzing the season from both perspectives, from both drivers, and I think we as a team need to do a much, much better job on that side of the garage come race strategy – but also we had reliability issues and it was always hitting that car, so that is something we need to do much, much better.”
Mike Krack, the Aston Martin team principal, was predictably protective of Lance Stroll amid his struggles alongside Alonso on Thursday at Monza – and the nature of his driver’s weekend seemed to prove his point. Lance has scored only 47 points in the season so far, which is way behind his teammate Fernando who has secured third place in the driver’s championship with a total tally of 170 points.
yet to place such an importance on points overlooks two key factors.
The first? Such is the wealth and ambition of Stroll’s father and team owner Lawrence that he would probably not be particularly interested in the Constructors’ Championship until his team are in a position to win it.
And at a time when F1 is booming – in a year when just 24 per cent of the Alpine team has been sold for an eye-watering $218million – an extra position or two in the Championship is not quite as valuable as it once was from a financial perspective.
And second? The team may actually benefit from the distance between Alonso and Stroll in the long term, for finishing behind Mercedes and Ferrari this year would allow them more development time on the 2024 car and generate more runway to come again at the established leading teams from a stronger baseline next season.
Stroll to sack his own son? Not a chance. Blood runs thicker than World Championship points.
