Where Aston Martin now stand on Lance Stroll’s F1 future after ‘burning’ millions on repairs

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Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll has his work cut out at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Lance Stroll was eliminated in Q1 once again on Saturday in a session that had so much promise for Aston Martin.

His teammate Fernando Alonso was quicker than Oscar Piastri in FP2 on Friday, but fans never got to see Stroll’s true potential in that session either.

Stroll was extremely lucky to avoid being injured in a crash during practice that completely destroyed one side of his car.

Aston Martin broke curfew to repair his car, only to see the television coverage pan to the number 18 driving through the gravel during the first part of qualifying.

The Canadian driver had dipped a wheel onto the grass and spun, heading into the penultimate corner.

It was a considerable impact with the tyre wall, but Stroll managed to drive away and head back to the pit lane; however, the damage was too extensive for him to return to the track.

Alonso advanced to Q3, showing the true potential of the car, even if they weren’t quite as competitive as during practice.

However, this has once again raised the question about whether Stroll has a long-term future at Aston Martin.

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Lance Stroll has the ‘safest’ seat in Formula 1 at Aston Martin despite Dutch Grand Prix damage

Journalist Ralf Bach was speaking on the F1 Insider YouTube channel after Stroll’s latest failure in qualifying.

Asked about his future, he said: “He gave the mechanics who built his car a sleepless night, then he blew it away again today.

“Whoever says it was a driving error, it speaks for itself. But OK, that was just crazy again.

“He’s not a genius, but sometimes just a good driver, but crazy. Today, Stroll was crazy again.

“His father doesn’t do Formula 1 to win; he only does Formula 1 so that his son can win races at some point, that’s the only reason.

“It’s well known how many millions he’s burning, it’s all about his little boy, let’s not kid ourselves!

“Why should he invest so much money and then throw him out when the car gets better.

“No matter what people say, so, for me, Stroll has the safest driver’s seat of all.”

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Lance Stroll says there was ‘no chance’ of setting a qualifying lap after Dutch Grand Prix crash

Stroll walked out of his media session mid-question, leaving journalists perplexed.

In his official interview after his Q1 exit, he said: “Unfortunately, there was no chance to bring the car back out and run again because there was too much damage.

“It’s a shame after the hard work the team has put in overnight to get the car back running ahead of FP3. And the car has felt comfortable so far this weekend, with the package looking pretty strong. We will see what we can do from the back of the grid tomorrow.”

Stroll’s contract runs until the end of 2026, but it’s nearly impossible to see his father, Lawrence Stroll, moving him on.

Aston Martin have other racing projects that Stroll could be moved onto, but nothing as prestigious as their Formula 1 team.

However, even if Aston Martin are more competitive next season, it’s hard to see Stroll being their lead driver.

Saturday saw Alonso outqualify him for the 27th time in a row, and so if Adrian Newey does design the perfect car for 2026, only one driver is going to be in contention to win the championship.