After four Grand Prix this season, it’s becoming obvious who has adapted to their new cars already and who still has work to do.
The split between the top five teams and bottom five teams has created an interesting dynamic, although a gap is beginning to emerge between Red Bull and Ferrari and the rest of the grid.
Speaking on The Chequered Flag Podcast, commentator Harry Benjamin admitted one driver stood out as needing to improve very quickly.
The driver’s market is going to play a huge part in the discourse around this season with so many racers out of contract for 2025.
There are high-profile drivers like Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso who are likely to create a domino effect once they make their final decisions.
The situation of several drivers not currently on the grid such as Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman also has to be examined carefully.
This means that plenty of drivers are under pressure to perform and some are dealing with that better than others.
However, Benjamin believes Lance Stroll has to improve to justify his place on the grid.
While he’s not technically been confirmed for 2025, right now it seems very unlikely that he won’t be at Aston Martin.
If the senior management of that team wants to take Formula 1 seriously, then they may have to make a very difficult decision.
READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Harry Benjamin tells Lance Stroll he needs to improve to justify F1 seat
The Japanese Grand Prix couldn’t have gone much worse for Lance Stroll.
He was once again eliminated in Q1 when he should be reaching the top ten of qualifying at every race weekend.
The 25-year-old left the door open for Yuki Tsunoda to qualify 10 at his home Grand Prix and took full advantage of his elevated grid position.
The RB driver scored his first point at Suzuka in his career while Stroll failed to drive through the pack to add to his points tally.
Benjamin has now said that Stroll must improve ‘dramatically’ to show that he should still be in Formula 1.
He’s nowhere near the pace of his teammate and Aston Martin may struggle to keep hold of Alonso despite preparing a contract for him if they don’t think the team is matching his ambitions.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage
Lance Stroll should be under pressure at Aston Martin
Speaking about the Canadian driver, Benjamin said: “He qualified 16, [Fernando] Alonso was fifth and look Fernando Alonso is Fernando Alonso, let’s not underestimate that but he is absolutely wiping the floor once again with Lance Stroll.
“And Stroll, you don’t get pole positions, you don’t get on the podium in Formula 1 if you’re a bad driver, he’s a decent peddler.
“But if he was any other driver, he would not still be in Formula 1 right now based on his last few years of performance.
“He’s only in that team and we all know why, it’s because his father owns the team and runs the team.
“However, surely, there’s got to be the conversation at some stage unless he dramatically picks up performance and even with an upgrade at this weekend, he didn’t have the pace advantage within himself, he said that in his interviews.
“And you have to wonder, how long can he go on within himself doing this and being absolutely beaten every time but Aston Martin lost out on a top three position in the Constructors’ Championship last year because they only had one man scoring the points.
“At the moment, OK Stroll’s picked up a few points here and there, but he’s not pulling his weight in that team.”
Who could Lance Stroll be replaced by at Aston Martin?
While Benjamin thinks Stroll may not be in F1 right now if it weren’t for his father and needs to improve a lot very quickly, it’s still very hard to see a replacement being brought in.
Benjamin previously suggested that Aston Martin should look at Yuki Tsunoda, particularly given his connections with Honda who will become the team’s power unit supplier in 2026.
There have also been suggestions that they should try and pair Fernando Alonso with Carlos Sainz when his Ferrari contract expires.
Lawrence Stroll is also believed to be interested in the 29-year-old, but he’s more likely to replace his fellow countryman in that scenario than his own son.
The post ‘Not pulling his weight’: Harry Benjamin tells 25-year-old he needs to ‘dramatically’ improve to stay in F1 appeared first on F1 Oversteer.