Stroll exploited changeable conditions at Monza to qualify fourth and the youngster was promoted to the front row when both Red Bulls took engine penalties. Seventh in the Italian GP, he was eighth in the next two races and sixth in Mexico.
Williams replaced Massa with Russian rookie Sergey Sirotkin for 2018 and the inexperienced drivers struggled to develop its disappointing FW41 chassis. Baku and Monza again provided Stroll’s highlights – finishing eighth in Azerbaijan and ninth in Italy.
Switch to Racing Point
His future in F1 was assured when his father was part of the Racing Point consortium that acquired Force India in the summer break. Stroll Jr moved to the Silverstone-based team in 2019 but it proved another fraught campaign. Overshadowed by team-mate Sergio Pérez and rarely able to avoid elimination in Q1, he did finish fourth in the chaotic German GP and qualify ninth in Italy. Stroll scored points on six occasions and was 15th in the final standings.
Stroll achieved his best season in F1 to date in 2020 as he achieved his maiden podium and pole positions. The Canadian might have had a chance of victory at Monza but for a poor getaway on the second race start following a red flag and having led the opening phase of the Turkish Grand Prix, faded in the second half of the race, eventually finishing ninth. Stroll remained with the team as it transformed into Aston Martin for the 2021 season, partnering Sebastian Vettel at the team.
Aston Martin
The journey back to the front of the F1 grid is never a smooth one, a lesson Aston Martin and Stroll has had to learn very quickly. Finishing fourth in the constructors’ standings the year before, the team fell to seventh in 2021 in a season filled with inconsistency. Stroll’s fifth season in F1 got off to a positive start, with a tenth place finish in Bahrain, followed by an eighth place finish at Imola, beating teammate Vettel on both occasions.
But the Canadian would struggle to maintain any consistency throughout the rest of the season, only finishing inside the top ten seven more times and eventually losing out to Vettel in the drivers’ standings.
2022 brought new challenges of its own, with updated technical regulations hoping to provide closer and harder racing between the drivers. Unfortunately for Stroll, his team were unable to provide a car consistent enough to contend further up the grid, finishing the season as the seventh best constructor – narrowly missing out to Alfa Romeo in a fight for sixth. Stroll himself had a handful of standout performances throughout the season, taking sixth place in Singapore and eighth in Abu Dhabi, but was once again outshone by his teammate – finishing 19 points shy of Vettel in the drivers’ standings.
In 2023, Stroll will remain at Aston Martin to partner two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso, who replaces the retiring Sebastian Vettel.
