Pedro de la Rosa says ‘incredibly fast’ F1 driver has been ‘flying’ at the end of the season

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Pedro de la Rosa has admitted that he’s been really impressed with how Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll finished the 2023 Formula 1 season.

De La Rosa was speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast after the final race of the year.

Aston Martin were one of the teams that still had something to play for going into Sunday’s race.

They were attempting to chase down McLaren after an encouraging end to the year.

Both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finished in the points, but couldn’t keep up with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

On a personal level, Stroll also had to make sure he finished above the two Alpine drivers in the Drivers’ Championship.

The French pair both failed to add to those points tally meaning Stroll confirmed his tenth place in the standings.

Pedro de la Rosa has now shared that he’s been impressed with Stroll recently and believes he’s been flying in recent weeks.

The middle of the season was tough for Aston Martin and the Canadian struggled to get the best out of the car.

However, he’s ended the season well with back-to-back fifth places in Brazil and Las Vegas.

The emphasis is now on Stroll to close the gap on Alonso in 2024 and help Aston Martin move up the constructors’ standings.

De La Rosa impressed with Stroll’s recent form

Speaking about the 25-year-old, De La Rosa said: “He has been flying the last few races. OK, there have been races where it has been difficult and we’ve been at the back, Mexico, Austin, starting from the pit lane.

“But, he’s been incredibly fast and definitely some races faster than Fernando [Alonso] and this has impressed me from Lance.

“His capacity to improve, to learn and to grow stronger and today [Abu Dhabi] was an example of that.

“He qualified P13, he finished P10 and he was catching the group in front so it was a strong finish definitely.”

Not every F1 fan will be as impressed as De La Rosa has been with Stroll this season.

He’s been accused of unsettling the environment at Aston Martin and cutting a grumpy figure when things aren’t always going your way.

Martin Brundle hailed his race in Las Vegas and while Alonso and Sergio Perez were battling for a podium in Brazil, the Canadian was quickly closing them down.

His long-term future in F1 appears to be safe while his father is connected with the team.

He’ll need to continue this upward trajectory in his form to justify his seat going forward.