‘Utter rubbish’… When George Russell raged at team orders ‘protecting’ Lance Stroll in Euro F3

Follow us on Google Discover

Lance Stroll is a driver who divides opinion both inside and outside Formula 1. Some view him as a pure pay driver, whereas others feel he’s earned his place on the grid.

Stroll made his F1 debut in 2017 with Williams, becoming the second-youngest driver in the sport’s history after Max Verstappen. Verstappen took his first podium at the age of 18 years, seven months and 15 days, and Stroll was only 12 days older when he achieved that feat in Azerbaijan.

He’s added two more podium finishes to his record in his 161-race career. And unlike seven of the drivers in the current field, he has a pole position to his name after mastering the greasy conditions at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix.

Stroll’s billionaire father, Lawrence Stroll, owns the Aston Martin team, and critics argue that this is the only thing keeping him in F1. Against his last three teammates – Sergio Perez, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso – Stroll has been outscored by 525 points to 246.

All three of those drivers are multiple race winners, and Vettel and Alonso have picked up six world championships between them. But this may not excuse the extent of the gap.

George Russell felt Lance Stroll had unfair advantage in 2016 Euro F3 battle

On paper, Stroll’s record in the junior formulae is excellent. He won the Italian F4 championship in 2014, the Toyota Racing Series in 2015 and the European F3 championship in 2016.

The Euro F3 field that year also featured George Russell, now a two-time race-winner for Mercedes, and Zhou Guanyu. Stroll romped to glory with 507 points, nearly 200 clear of nearest challenger Maximilian Gunther.

But speaking to Autosport at the time, Russell, who finished third, suggested Stroll had an unfair advantage. At one race in France, he declared that the other Prema driver, Nick Cassidy, wasn’t allowed to challenge him.

Cassidy claimed an ‘accidental’ gear mishap had allowed Stroll to get past. But a livid Russell rejected that explanation.

“I feel sorry for Nick – to have to give his position up to Lance on the first lap of the first race is bad for the championship,” he said. “He was on the back of Lance throughout the race, and it’s a bit of a shame if the championship is going to pan out this way. Hitech don’t have a way of protecting me like Prema do with Lance.

“It’s a shame that you can’t get anywhere in this sport without paying for it, while normal guys like myself and Ben Barnicoat [Russell’s team-mate] are trying to compete for the championship. Nick can talk about all his mistakes, but it’s complete and utter rubbish.”

F1 driver ‘really doesn’t like’ Lance Stroll and radio message shows it

Stroll started his F1 career alongside a veteran figure in Felipe Massa. The Brazilian had won 11 races and scored 41 podiums, very nearly winning the world championship in 2008.

Over the course of the 2017 season, his last in F1 before he retired, he says he offered the rookie plentiful guidance. But Massa was outraged with Stroll after he gave an interview claiming he hadn’t received any help from his teammate.

In the heat of the midfield competition out on track, Stroll has made some sporting enemies. One of them is Yuki Tsunoda.

The RB driver complained about the Aston Martin man holding him up during practice for the Singapore GP, saying ‘of course [it was] Stroll man’. Sky Sports F1’s Anthony Davidson remarked that Tsunoda ‘really doesn’t like’ Stroll after hearing the message.