Mike Krack hits out at ‘disrespectful’ thing people are saying about Lance Stroll

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Lance Stroll has endured a difficult start to the season for Aston Martin. Once again, it seems as if it’s only Fernando Alonso who can extract the full potential of the car.

Heading into this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Stroll sits 11th in the championship on nine points. Alonso, three spots ahead in eighth, has scored nearly four times that number (33).

The Aston Martin is, by all accounts, the fifth-fastest car on the grid this season. It’s not a good look for Stroll, then, to be behind RB driver Yuki Tsunoda (14 points).

There have been flashes of promise from the Canadian. He out-qualified and out-raced Alonso at the Australian Grand Prix, although the Spaniard did receive a 20-second post-race penalty following an incident with George Russell.

He also qualified ahead of Alonso for both the sprint and the main Grand Prix in Miami last time out. Jenson Button noted that this seemed to irritate the Spaniard.

However, Alonso moved forward in Sunday’s race, climbing from 15th to ninth, as Stroll fell sharply down the order. He was ultimately classified 17th after a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in a battle with Alex Albon.

Mike Krack says it’s ‘unfair’ that midfield teams target Lance Stroll

One member of a midfield F1 team told journalist Lawrence Barretto earlier in the season that the bottom five teams were relying on Stroll to make a mistake. That would then open the door for them to score a point.

The grid has effectively split into two halves this season, with Tsunoda one of the few drivers able to bridge the gap. But Stroll has clearly developed a reputation as an error-prone driver who could present opportunities to those below.

Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack expressed his frustration with that narrative. While he admits Stroll needs to be more consistent, he feels he’s held his own up against some greats of the sport.

• READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

“You always hear from the midfield teams that ten drivers are fighting with Lance Stroll for the last championship point,” the journalist said. “Is that disrespectful or just reality?

“That’s disrespectful in my opinion,” Krack replied. “And also unfair. If you look at his development over the last few years, he carefully pulled himself out of the affair in the duel with Sebastian [Vettel].

“He also always did well against Fernando in the races. But we still have to get some consistency. We have to work on that. I find the statement disrespectful, but in such an environment here in Formula 1, I can understand it.”

Lance Stroll non-committal on Aston Martin future

More than half of the 2024 F1 drivers are out of contract for next year, but Stroll finds himself in a unique position within that group. That’s because his father Lawrence owns the team.

That means he’s virtually guaranteed a seat. But the assumption here is that he wants to continue racing in the sport.

It’s been a bruising couple of years for the 25-year-old up against two-time world champion Alonso. As you can see in the table below, it’s been an extremely one-sided battle.

Stroll sounded decidedly unenthusiastic about his future in an interview last month, simply staying time will tell. Team ambassador Pedro de la Rosa has urged him to banish any thoughts of stepping away from racing given Aston’s grand ambitions.

The Silverstone outfit are hopeful of becoming a championship contender following the 2026 engine regulations. They’ll be using Honda power units as part of an exclusive partnership.

But one journalist believes that Stroll lacks ‘hunger’, and Will Buxton says he ‘hates’ carrying out his media duties more than anybody else on the grid. Pundit Marc Priestley has even posited the theory that he could go and race in sportscars instead, potentially opening up a seat for Carlos Sainz at Aston Martin.