Pedro De La Rosa lauds ‘extremely quick’ driver who hasn’t finished on the podium this season

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Pedro De La Rosa has hailed the recent good form of Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll as the Formula 1 season nears its conclusion.

De La Rosa was speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast ahead of the most anticipated event on the F1 calendar.

All ten teams are on their way to Las Vegas right now for what’s set to be a show-stopping event.

Formula 1 have pulled out all of the stops to make the newest race on the calendar a success.

So much so, that they’ve promoted the event themselves when normally they ask the organisers to do so.

There’s not a huge amount to play for in terms of the driver’s standings although only Red Bull and Alpine are guaranteed their spots in the Constructors’ Championship.

After starting the season so well, Aston Martin have slipped down to fifth and are 21 points behind McLaren.

While they can still catch the papaya team in theory, they’re the most in-form team on the grid besides Red Bull.

However, Pedro De La Rosa has been encouraged by the recent pace of Lance Stroll, while you can always count on Fernando Alonso to get the best out of a car.

Whether that will be enough to catch the likes of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri is another matter.

However, there are plenty of unknown variables in Las Vegas given it’s a new circuit and anything could happen.

De La Rosa encouraged by recent Stroll pace

Speaking about the Canadian’s recent outings, De La Rosa said: “It was a really, really positive weekend from a team’s perspective.

“He’s [Fernando Alonso] obviously very special, I cannot say how good he is because we all know how good he is, how clever he is and how complete he is.

“He wouldn’t be able to do this without a great car and a great team behind.

“Look at Lance [Stroll’s] pace, he was catching them at the end, he was extremely quick with the medium tyre, he was even faster at the end of the race with the soft tyre.

“All in all, you need the best drivers, but the car also is critical.

“Lance has been driving exceptionally well in the past few events, not only in Brazil but in Mexico, under difficult circumstances he was flying driving a very difficult car.

“Then in Brazil, he was again at many stages of the weekend he was faster than Fernando. He even outqualified him in a very tricky qualifying session.

“On race pace, he was closing the gap to Checo and Fernando, so this is just proof of what he can do.”

Stroll needs strong end to 2023 after difficult campaign

Pedro De La Rosa’s connections to Aston Martin mean he’s always going to look out for Stroll.

However, the Canadian has been in the wilderness at times this season, at one point going on a run of eight races where he scored just three points.

In that same run, Alonso scored points in seven out of eight races and including a podium in the Netherlands.

Comparing the pair is slightly harsh given Alonso’s experience and pedigree in Formula 1.

And due to Lawrence Stroll’s connection with the team, it’s unlikely his son’s place on the grid will ever be in jeopardy.

However, is Aston Martin design a car capable of challenging consistently for podiums and wins, then Stroll has to be there to support his teammate otherwise the team might have to make a difficult decision.