F1 News: Former Champion Questions Lance Stroll's Aston Martin Position

“Either Lance gets back to where he can be, should be, or they need to think about changing things around with the second driver."

Former F1 champion Nico Rosberg has raised questions over Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll's current and future position within the team, given a lack of performance that has caused a 123-point difference between him and teammate Fernando Alonso. 

Stroll has clearly not been in form. Take for example the scene at Monza where the Canadian driver qualified last while Alonso went into Q3 again. Though he managed to keep up with Alonso in the early races of the season, Stroll's nosedive has been pulling down Aston Martin's championship ranking, causing the team to drop from second to fourth below Mercedes and Ferrari.

If the trend continues the same way, Aston Martin may even lose a spot in the top four teams next year, especially considering the way McLaren has been upping its pace. Rosberg has expressed his views on the matter, and what that could mean for Aston Martin as a team currently running on one out of two engines. Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, he said:

“I’m not sure what’s happened to Lance, He’s a very decent driver, he showed at the start of the season he can stay close to Fernando. When Fernando was third, Lance was fifth or sixth.

"He’s in a difficult phase now. Long-term for Aston, they can’t allow themselves to have one driver who’s a long way off.

"Either Lance gets back to where he can be, should be, or they need to think about changing things around with the second driver.

"Fernando needs to be pushed. The set-up work is better when there is two drivers who are on it. It’s a different dynamic. It’s important to have two drivers who are quick.”

Rosberg has laid emphasis on both drivers being quick else the slow one often tends to add unnecessary weight to the team's progress. However, he hinted that Alonso might have to speak up if the situation continues to remain stagnant, given that Lance Stroll's father owns the team. He added:

“It’s impossible for me to judge. Probably, it would be Lance saying ‘hey, I should go and do something else’ if he continues to struggle like he is at the moment.

"The easiest would be if Lance finds a way back to where he can be, which is not too far from Fernando.

"It’s a father-son relationship, that’s the challenge, that’s what matters. So it’s a difficult one. If Aston were second in the constructor’s, I think it’s £30m or so more in revenues from TV money shares, from second to fourth. So there’s a lot of money at stake."

Aston Martin might have to act soon to change the dynamics before it's too late. But, Rosberg's statements throw light on the personal front that can't be left unseen. Is the father-son relationship coming in the way of the team's progress?