With a third of the 2024 Formula 1 season gone, there are still a number of drivers without a contract for 2025. Perhaps the biggest name on that list is Carlos Sainz, who’s leaving Ferrari at the end of the year ahead of the arrival of Lewis Hamilton.
F1 Oversteer understands that Williams expect to sign Sainz for next year at the expense of Logan Sargeant, but other drivers may have to wait for a resolution. Esteban Ocon needs to find a new team after Alpine announced that he’d be leaving at the end of the season.
Down at RB, Yuki Tsunoda must decide whether he wants to sign a contract extension or try to find a way out of the Red Bull system. The team will no doubt look to keep him after his standout performances this year.
The future of Daniel Ricciardo is less clearcut. The Australian may need to up his game to convince RB to keep hold of him, and fend off the threat of Liam Lawson.
Sauber duo Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu know they’re at risk of losing their drive after the signing of Nico Hulkenberg. Even though the German is leaving Haas, Kevin Magnussen remains under pressure too.
And then there’s Lance Stroll, who finds himself in a unique position. Stroll is approaching the end of his contract, but he doesn’t need to be concerned because his father Lawrence owns Aston Martin.
Jacques Villeneuve wonders whether Lance Stroll is happy in F1
Ordinarily, Stroll would be at risk of losing his seat. While he’s performed surprisingly well against two-time world champion Fernando Alonso in qualifying this year – they’re tied at 4-4 ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix – Alonso has been far more productive in the races.
Indeed, the Spaniard has scored exactly three times as many points as Stroll (33 vs 11), with the latter below Tsunoda in the championship. This follows a difficult 2023 campaign that saw Alonso finish 132 points and six spots ahead.
Stroll made his F1 debut at Williams in 2017 and then, after two years, he moved to Racing Point (now Aston Martin) when his father invested in the team. This is his sixth season racing with the Silverstone outfit, and he’s now a veteran of more than 150 Grands Prix.
But speaking on Sky Sports F1 ahead of Stroll’s home race in Montreal, 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve questioned whether F1 had ever been his ultimate goal. He wonders if Lawrence Stroll is living his own dream through his son.
“There’s one question you haven’t asked – did he ever have a choice?” he said of his compatriot. “Did he ever want to really become a race car driver, or was it his father’s dream?
“The father has always been extremely passionate about racing, I knew him in my IndyCar days and he always wanted to be a racer himself. He was not allowed and he’s living his dream. Did his son actually have the choice or not?”
Journalist says Stroll ‘doesn’t even look’ at him during interviews
Villeneuve isn’t the first pundit or journalist to question Stroll’s mindset. He doesn’t seem to enjoy the spotlight that comes with racing in F1.
Indeed, one reporter says that ‘he doesn’t even look at you’ during interviews and rarely gives an answer longer than 10 seconds. He added that he barely has any ‘enthusiasm’ when carrying out commercial commitments either.
Another has questioned whether Stroll has the motivation to become a Grand Prix winner. He’s finished on the podium three times during his career, and took his one and only pole position to date at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix.
It seems as if the 26-year-old will continue in the sport for as long as he desires. If he ever decided to walk away, then it could be good news for Tsunoda, who may use his Honda links to secure a seat with future engine partners Aston Martin.
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