F1 champion puzzled by Lance Stroll’s outburst: ‘There’s no pressure on him’
“I didn’t see the incident, so it’s hard to comment. But where’s the pressure? Why should he care? It’s not like his seat is in jeopardy.”
1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has been left puzzled by Lance Stroll’s widely reported outburst following qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix.
It’s been claimed that Stroll swore at several of his Aston Martin colleagues and threw his helmet following a frustrating qualifying session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
An Aston Martin mechanic downplayed the incident when addressing a story posted by the BBC on Instagram.
Harry Rush clarified: “Swore at team members? Absolutely not true.”
Stroll was forced to withdraw from the grand prix in Barcelona after Aston Martin revealed that his wrist injury had worsened.
This injury was linked to his cycling accident ahead of the 2023 F1 season, which ruled him out of testing.
On Wednesday, Aston Martin confirmed Stroll’s return for this weekend’s Canadian GP.
Speaking to BetVictor Casino, Villeneuve explained why he didn’t understand Stroll’s frustration given that there’s no pressure to keep his seat at Aston Marton.
“I didn’t see the incident, so it’s hard to comment. But where’s the pressure? Why should he care? It’s not like his seat is in jeopardy,” he said.
“His father owns the team. But at some point you get frustrated with the team’s current lack of form.So, who knows what happened in Spain.
“There might have been other things that we’re not aware of that have nothing to do with the lap time. That’s very easy to judge. We don’t know what’s going on.
“Lance got a hand injury which meant he couldn’t race in Spain. He broke both wrists a couple of years ago. It sounded like he’s damaged a hand again. But we don’t know. Nobody has the true stories. It’s always very dangerous to say, that’s what happened. We just don’t know. But if you have a wrist injury, then it’s really hard to drive.”
Fan criticism affecting Stroll?
Villeneuve suggested that fan criticism was potentially the cause of Stroll’s frustration last time out.
Stroll has often been criticised for his inverted personality when speaking to the media.
His secure position on the grid has also been scrutinised.
His seat is secure at Aston Martin because his father, Lawrence Stroll, owns the team.
“There’s no pressure on Lance, but at some point, people’s comments get into your ear, and it gets frustrating and annoying and the comments aren’t necessarily very positive,” Villeneuve added.
“So, every human being will start getting affected at some point.”
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