Lance Stroll has signed a new contract to remain at the Aston Martin Formula 1 team. Stroll’s deal had been due to expire at the end of the season but he’s now penned fresh terms.
The extension was seen as a formality given that his father Lawrence owns the team. He was one of two drivers to commit to their teams ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, alongside Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
After spending the first two years of his F1 career at Williams, Stroll joined the Silverstone outfit in 2019 when they were still known as Racing Point. The Canadian has faced a series of elite-level teammates since.
He initially took on Sergio Perez, who secured a coveted Red Bull seat at the end of 2020. Lawrence Stroll replaced him with four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.
After Vettel retired in 2022, double title-winner Fernando Alonso arrived. The vastly more experienced Spaniard has comfortably outperformed Stroll during their partnership.
Overall, Alonso has scored Stroll by 247 points to 91 and the 42-year-old has also been responsible for all eight of the team’s podiums in the last two years. Stroll has at least performed commendably against him in qualifying this year, beating him in four out of 10 sessions.
How Red Bull reacted to Aston Martin contract extension
On Thursday, the official Formula 1 Threads account confirmed that ‘Lance Stroll will race with Aston Martin for 2025 and beyond’. World champions Red Bull replied with a shocked emoji, along with a photo of a surprised-looking Perez.
At the time of writing, their response has received more likes (4.5k) than F1’s initial post (2.9k). This reflects the overarching sense of inevitability.
Stroll is now a veteran of 153 Grands Prix and has scored a total of 285 points. He has one pole position to his name from the 2020 Turkish GP, and has stood on the podium three times.
Ahead of the race in Austria, he sits 11th in the championship, two points adrift of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda (19 vs 17). His best result of the season came in Australia in March, when he finished P6.
Helmut Marko questions Stroll attitude
Stroll is in a unique situation on the F1 grid in that it’s up to him whether he wants to continue racing. But some have questioned his appetite.
Indeed, his legendary compatriot Jacques Villeneuve recently asked whether he ever dreamed of racing at all, or whether he’s simply living his father’s dream. Meanwhile, Red Bull executive director Helmut Marko cast doubt on Stroll’s willingness to ‘work very hard’ to achieve success.
The 25-year-old’s new contract shuts the door to Aston Martin for the foreseeable future. Teammate Alonso has also signed a deal that will keep him at the team through the transition to the 2026 regulations.
Tsunoda has been among those eyeing up a potential seat given the company’s impending tie-up with Honda. They’re the fourth team on the grid to confirm their full line-up after McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull.
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