Lance Stroll

**Lance Strulovitch** (born 29 October 1998), better known as **Lance Stroll**, is a Canadian and Belgian racing driver competing under the Canadian flag in Formula One. He has driven for Aston Martin since 2021, having previously driven for Williams and Racing Point. He was Italian F4 champion in 2014, Toyota Racing Serieschampion in 2015, and 2016 FIA European Formula 3champion. He was part of the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2010 to 2015. He achieved his first podium finish, a 3rd place, at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, becoming the second-youngest driver to finish an F1 race on the podium and the youngest (and latest as of the end of 2022) to do so during his rookie season. At the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, Stroll took his first pole position in Formula One. Stroll also competed in endurance racing, taking part in the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2016 and 2018.

## Personal life

Stroll is the son of Canadian billionaire businessman Lawrence Stroll (part-owner of the Aston Martin Formula One team) and Belgian fashion designer Claire-Anne Callens, and has an older sister named Chloe. His parents are divorced and his father has since remarried to Raquel Diniz. He is of Russian Jewish descent from his father's side. Stroll races under the Canadian flag and holds both Canadian and Belgian citizenship. He is multilingual speaking English, French, Flemish, and Italian.

## Career

Like many race drivers, the Geneva-based Canadian began his motorsport career in karting at the age of 10. He recorded numerous race and championship wins in his native Canada and North America and in 2008, his first year of karting, he won the Federation de Sport Automobile du Quebec rookie of the year award and driver of the year in 2009. In 2010, Stroll became a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy.

### Formula 4

Stroll's car racing debut came in the 2014 Florida Winter Series, a non-championship series organized by the Ferrari Driver Academy. He raced against future Formula One competitors Nicholas Latifi and Max Verstappen, and took two podium finishes as well as pole position at Homestead–Miami Speedway.

Stroll made his competitive car racing debut in the 2014 Italian F4 Championship, driving for Prema Powerteam. Despite missing the final round due to injury, Stroll emerged as series champion, taking seven race wins, thirteen podium finishes, and five pole positions.

### Formula 3

link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lance\_Stroll,\_Formel\_3\_2015.JPG|right|thumb|Stroll competing in Formula Three, 2015

#### 2015

At the beginning of 2015, Stroll won the New Zealand-based Toyota Racing series, recording 10 podiums – including four wins – from 16 race starts. In the same year, he also contested the FIA Formula 3 European Championship with Prema Powerteam, in which his father by this time had taken a stake. He competed against future Formula One competitors Antonio Giovinazzi, Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Alexander Albon, winning one race at the Hockenheimring and achieving six total podium finishes in the 33-race series. He ended the season 5th in the championship. 2015 also marked Stroll's first and only appearance at the non-championship Formula Three Macau Grand Prix, in which he finished in 8th place.

On 11 November 2015, it was announced that Stroll would leave the Ferrari Driver Academy to serve as a test driver for Williams.

#### 2016

Stroll began 2016 by finishing 5th at the 2016 24 Hours of Daytona, driving for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing in a Ford EcoBoost Prototype. He remained with Prema Powerteam for a third consecutive year to compete in his second season of the Formula 3 European Championship. He won the first race at Circuit Paul Ricard before taking thirteen more race victories over the season, including five consecutive victories in the final five races. He claimed the title with four races to go and ended the season 187 points clear of nearest competitor Maximilian Günther.

Throughout the season, Stroll and his team were accused of manufacturing his title via team orders to his teammates, which was highlighted by George Russell, who stated at Le Castellet, where Stroll had inherited the lead from a slowing Nick Cassidy, who ended up finishing second, that "it's not a fair fight".

## Formula One

### Williams (2017–2018)

#### 2017

[[null|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lance\_Stroll\_2017\_Malaysia\_FP2.jpg%7Cleft%7Cthumb%7CStroll driving the Williams FW40 at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix]]
Stroll drove for the Williams team for the 2017 Formula One season, partnering Felipe Massa. He became the first Canadian Formula One driver since the 1997 World Drivers' Champion Jacques Villeneuve. Reportedly, Stroll's father Lawrence paid $80 million to Williams prior to his Formula One debut.

Stroll crashed in practice for his debut race, the Australian Grand Prix, and received a grid penalty as this necessitated an unscheduled gearbox change. He retired from the race with a brake failure. Two more retirements followed after collisions with Sergio Pérez at the Chinese Grand Prix and Carlos Sainz Jr. at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Stroll's first race finish came at the Russian Grand Prix, where he finished in eleventh despite spinning on the first lap. He retired with a brake failure at the Monaco Grand Prix, but was still classified fifteenth. Stroll scored his first Formula One points at his home Grand Prix in Montreal, finishing in ninth place.

At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Stroll had run in second place in the closing laps, but was passed by Valtteri Bottas just metres from the finish line. He finished third to become the youngest rookie and the second-youngest driver after Max Verstappen to finish on the podium in Formula One, at the age of 18 years and 239 days.

Stroll registered the fourth fastest time during a wet qualifying session for the Italian Grand Prix. Due to Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen (respectively third and second) taking grid penalties, Stroll was promoted to second place on the starting grid, making him the youngest Formula One driver to start on the front row at the age of 18 years and 310 days. Stroll finished seventh in the race. He recorded two eighth-place finishes at the Singapore (where he started eighteenth) and Malaysian Grands Prix. At the latter, Stroll and Sebastian Vettel collided on the cool-down lap after the end of the race. Both drivers blamed the other for the incident, however no action was taken by the stewards.

At the Mexican Grand Prix, Stroll worked his way up to sixth place in the race from eleventh on the grid. This result placed him ahead of teammate Felipe Massa in the Drivers' Championship for the first time that season. Stroll ended the season twelfth in the Drivers' Championship, scoring 40 of the team's 83 points. Furthermore, Stroll gained more positions on the opening lap than any other driver that year.

#### 2018

[[null|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FIA\_F1\_Austria\_2018\_Nr.\_18\_Stroll.jpg%7Calt=%7Cthumb%7CStroll at the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix]]
For the 2018 season, Stroll remained with Williams, partnered by Sergey Sirotkin after Massa retired from Formula One. The Williams FW41 was the slowest car of the field and the team finished last in the constructors' championship that season. Stroll scored the team's first points of the year at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix by finishing eighth. Stroll's home race, the Canadian Grand Prix, ended on the first lap after a heavy collision with Brendon Hartley. He then retired from the following French Grand Prix with a tire puncture. His second and final retirement of the year came at the German Grand Prix with a brake failure. Stroll made his only appearance in the third qualifying session (Q3) at the Italian Grand Prix, qualifying tenth. He went on to finish ninth in the race with teammate Sirotkin in tenth, marking Williams' only double points-finish that season.

Stroll finished eighteenth in the Drivers' Championship, scoring six of the team's seven points. Sirotkin out-qualified Stroll at twelve of the twenty-one races.

### Racing Point (2019–2020)

#### 2019

[[null|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lance\_Stroll\_during\_Hungarian\_Formula\_1\_GP.jpg%7Calt=%7Cthumb%7CStroll at the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix]]
Stroll switched to driving for the newly renamed Racing Point team for the 2019 season after the team was bought by a consortium of investors led by his father Lawrence. He replaced Esteban Ocon at the team and raced alongside Sergio Pérez. Stroll scored his first points for his new team at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, finishing ninth. At the Chinese Grand Prix, Stroll criticized team strategy after finishing outside of the point-scoring positions for the second consecutive race. At the Spanish Grand Prix he was involved in a collision with Lando Norris that ended both drivers' races. He finished ninth at the Canadian Grand Prix having started seventeenth.

In qualifying at the German Grand Prix, Stroll progressed past the first qualifying session (Q1), ending a streak of fourteen Grands Prix in which he had been eliminated in Q1. He switched to slick tires late in the race as the track was drying, elevating him to second place. He missed out on a podium after being overtaken by Daniil Kvyat and Sebastian Vettel. Stroll's next points finish came at the Belgian Grand Prix, where he started sixteenth and finished tenth. He scored his final points of the season after finishing ninth at the Japanese Grand Prix. Stroll retired from the final two races of the season, suffering a suspension failure at the Brazilian Grand Prix and brake issues at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Stroll ended his first season at Racing Point fifteenth in the Drivers' Championship with 21 points, below teammate Pérez's tally of 52 points. He was out-qualified by Pérez at eighteen of the season's twenty-one races.

#### 2020

[[null|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lance\_Stroll,\_2020\_pre-season\_testing\_(4).jpg%7Calt=%7Cthumb%7CStroll during pre-season testing in 2020]]
Stroll and Pérez were retained by Racing Point for 2020. As a result of Canada's national sporting authority resigning its mandate from the FIA, Stroll raced under an American licence but was still recognised as Canadian on race weekends. During the Austrian Grand Prix, he qualified in ninth place but later retired from the race following engine problems. His first points finish of the season came at the Styrian Grand Prix. He finished seventh having overtaken Daniel Ricciardo in a move Ricciardo described as "desperate" and deserving of a penalty. Stroll qualified third and finished fourth at the Hungarian Grand Prix and followed this with four more points finishes including fourth place at the Spanish Grand Prix. Stroll claimed his second Formula One podium at the Italian Grand Prix. He was in second place when the race restarted after a red flag period before being passed by multiple cars including Pierre Gasly. Stroll later suggested that his poor restart cost him the chance to win the race after Gasly claimed victory. After eight races, Stroll was in fourth place in the Drivers' Championship.

A string of retirements followed beginning with the Tuscan Grand Prix, where a mechanical failure caused him to crash heavily, having been running in fourth place. He was eliminated from the Russian Grand Prix on the first lap after contact with Charles Leclerc caused him to hit a wall. He then withdrew from the Eifel Grand Prix prior to qualifying due to illness, having sat out the third practice session. His team confirmed he did not have COVID-19, saying he had passed all necessary FIA tests in this regard. He was replaced at the event by Nico Hülkenberg. Shortly after the race, Stroll tested positive for COVID-19. He completed a 10-day isolation period and returned to racing at the Portuguese Grand Prix, in which he collided with Lando Norris. This caused Stroll's eventual retirement from the race, his fourth consecutive non-finish.

Stroll took his first pole position at the Turkish Grand Prix after a wet qualifying session. In doing so, he became the first Canadian F1 driver to take pole position since Jacques Villeneuve at the 1997 European Grand Prix. Stroll led the race for 32 of the 58 laps, but reported severe tire graining and eventually fell to ninth place by the end of the race. After the race, Racing Point found damage on Stroll's front wing which they named as the cause of his tire issues. Shortly after the Bahrain Grand Prix was restarted following Romain Grosjean's accident, Stroll's car was flipped over after making contact with Daniil Kvyat at turn eight. Stroll was uninjured and was able to extract himself from the car. At the Sakhir Grand Prix, he benefited from tire issues for the leading Mercedes cars to finish third, earning his third podium in Formula One.

At the end of the season, Stroll stood eleventh in the Drivers' Championship, scoring 75 of the team's 210 points.

### Aston Martin (2021–present)

#### 2021

[[null|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FIA\_F1\_Austria\_2021\_Nr.\_18\_Stroll.jpg%7Cthumb%7CStroll at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix]]
Stroll continued to drive for the Racing Point team in 2021 as the team rebranded to Aston Martin. He was partnered by Sebastian Vettel in place of Pérez. Stroll qualified and finished tenth in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. A video of him driving over a curb at the Monaco Grand Prix became a popular internet meme, used as a bait-and-switch similar to rickrolling, after the official broadcast interrupted a battle between Vettel, Pierre Gasly and Lewis Hamilton to show a replay of Stroll driving over the curbs. A high-speed tire failure at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix ended Stroll's race. A similar incident then happened to Max Verstappen later in the race, prompting tire manufacturer Pirelli to conduct an investigation into the failures. Stroll scored a point with tenth place at the French Grand Prix, having started nineteenth after being unable to set a representative lap time in qualifying.

Stroll caused a collision on the first lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix that eliminated himself and Charles Leclerc from the race and caused Daniel Ricciardo significant damage. As a result, Stroll was issued a five-place grid penalty for the next race, the Belgian Grand Prix. He finished seventh at the Italian Grand Prix, his best finish of the season thus far, but collided with both Vettel and Pierre Gasly at the Russian Grand Prix, for which he received a ten-second penalty. He crashed in qualifying at the Mexico City Grand Prix and finished fourteenth. His best result of the season came at the Qatar Grand Prix with a sixth-place finish. Stroll ended the season thirteenth in the Drivers' Championship, scoring 34 points to Vettel's 43.

#### 2022

[[null|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FIA\_F1\_Austria\_2022\_Nr.\_18\_Stroll\_(side\_2).jpg%7Cthumb%7CStroll at the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix]]
Aston Martin retained Stroll and Vettel for the 2022 season. Stroll was in eleventh place in the closing laps of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but lost places after a collision with Alex Albon. He failed to set a qualifying time at the Australian Grand Prix due to a crash with Nicholas Latifi for which Stroll was penalised. He made three pit stops during the race and later received a penalty for weaving on the straight when defending against Valtteri Bottas, finishing twelfth.Stroll took his first points of the year with tenth at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, and followed it up with another tenth place finish in Miami, despite a collision with Kevin Magnussen. He crashed in qualifying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and retired from the race with mechanical issues.

More tenth-place finishes came at the Canadian, French and Dutch Grands Prix. He came close to points at the British Grand Prix, where he started twentieth and finished eleventh, and at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he was running eighth before being spun around by Daniel Ricciardo. Stroll's best result of the season came with sixth place at the Singapore Grand Prix, and he achieved his best grid position since his 2020 Turkish Grand Prix pole position at the United States Grand Prix, starting fifth. He ran as high as third in the opening laps but was eliminated in a high-speed collision with Fernando Alonso. A penalty for dangerous defending against teammate Vettel in the São Paulo Grand Prix sprint dropped Stroll to fifteenth on the grid for the race, in which he recovered to score a point in tenth place. He scored more points at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, starting fourteenth and finishing eighth. Stroll ended the season fifteenth in the Drivers' Championship with 18 points to Vettel's 37.

#### 2023

[[null|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FIA\_F1\_Austria\_2023\_Nr.\_18\_(1).jpg%7Cthumb%7CStroll at the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix]]
Stroll remains with Aston Martin for 2023 and is partnered with Fernando Alonso, who replaces the retiring Sebastian Vettel. The Canadian missed all three days of pre-season testing at Bahrain International Circuit after suffering a cycling accident while training, being replaced by reserve driver Felipe Drugovich. Stroll sustained multiple injuries in the accident; a fracture and displacement in his right wrist, fracture in his left wrist and left hand, as well as a broken toe. Minor surgery was performed on his right wrist with metal screws being inserted. He returned for the free practice sessions and the race. In the second free practice session, he reported lingering pain from his wrists that forced him to adopt a relaxed style of driving; he said that while he felt "rather stiff", he "felt alright" in the car. Stroll qualified eighth for the race and finished sixth despite a first-lap collision between him and his teammate. At the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Stroll suffered his first mechanical retirement of the season, and in the Australian Grand Prix, Stroll finished fourth after a chaotic race. Stroll finished seventh in Azerbaijan and twelfth after being eliminated in Q1 in Miami.