Lance Stroll's issues this season have mainly been down to bad luck, insists his father.

Whatever way you look at it, it's been a pretty awful season for the Canadian youngster. After 17 races (though he missed the Singapore race after crashing out in qualifying) Stroll is 136 points adrift of his teammate, Fernando Alonso, with his best result being a 4th in Melbourne.

A cycling accident meant he missed pre-season testing, which admittedly makes his 6th-place finish in Bahrain all the more impressive, but for the most part it has been a lacklustre year, especially considering his teammate's seven visits to the podium.

"Lance started the year on the back foot with two broken wrists for the first half-dozen races, which was very challenging," says his father, Aston Martin team owner, Lawrence Stroll, "but he really did a heroic job.

"He's had an unfortunate amount of bad luck," Stroll Snr tells Sky Sports. "He's had nine retirements due to engine failures, or a rear-wing fail.

"Half of the races it hasn't been anything to do with his own abilities," he adds, "he has just had a lot of bad luck, sadly."

Since the summer, the Silverstone-based outfit has lost ground to its rivals, and having been leapfrogged by Mercedes and Ferrari is now under intense pressure from McLaren.

Nonetheless, while Alonso has continued to fight the fight, Stroll's season has gone from bad to worse, scoring just 3 points from the last seven races.

While Stroll Jnr cites the upgrades introduced earlier this season as not working in his favour, team boss, Mike Krack isn't entirely convinced.

"I think we need to prove that first," said the German. "The fact is that he has lost a bit of competitivity, and this is something we need to understand.

"We have suspicions and indications, and this is I think what Lance is referring to. But then we need to make the according changes and see, if this is confirmed, that if you improve that, he improves as well."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Jean-Pierre, 20/10/2023 18:34

"Lance Stroll is underperforming and he is clumsy, having caused several accident over the years. He is now a veteran and has never attained the level needed to win in F1. Moreover, it is not the first time we see him treat his collegues with contempt, which is never a good sign in any team."

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2. Posted by flyinglap, 20/10/2023 13:08

"@ Superbird70; No worries. De Cesaris has been one of the unsung heros of our sport. His family's close ties with Philip Morris propelled him to F1 at a very young age, at a time when motorsport was actually dangerous. He had had monumental crashes but he was quite the character, a pure racer, showing great courage and phenomenal speed, which was not always easy for him to control. Additionally, time and again he may have been used as a sort of Guinea-pig by his teams (due to Philip Morris picking up the bill, etc), but he was never holding back.

In Lance's case it does not make any sense for Aston Martin to deliberately damage him. Therefore, the problem lies elsewhere.

In Checo's case, if he fails to finish second in the Championship he will be out at the end of this season, just like Albon before him. Therefore, he has a very strong external incentive to do well, and hopefully he can find it within himself as well."

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3. Posted by Superbird70, 20/10/2023 10:01

"@flyinglap, I must apologise. Didn't do my homework. First name that popped into my head. That revelation is actually quite sad.
I guess next inline for coping mechanisms would be Perez then."

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4. Posted by flyinglap, 19/10/2023 23:28

"@ Superbird70; Regrettably, Andrea De Cesaris is no longer with us (killed in a road accident with his motorcycle back in October 2014); possibly a case of really bad luck.

On the same subject of "bad luck", Enzo Ferrari in his book "Piloti, che gente" ("race drivers, what a kind of people") amusingly recounts how he dismissed the justifications of one of his drivers about his "bad luck" during the previous season upon discussing the hoped renewal of his contract for the following season, with Ferrari replying that he only wanted "lucky" drivers driving for the "Scuderia", or words to that effect.

By the way, and be what it may, Lance's performance compared with Alonso's indirectly tells us something interesting about Vettel as well...

"

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5. Posted by Apexing, 19/10/2023 15:02

"I think he's correct. My father told me that bad luck is what kept me from being a driver in F1. Well, that and the lack of a billionaire father, which I guess was bad luck in its own right!"

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6. Posted by Defiant, 19/10/2023 14:58

"hahahhahahahhahahhaha, all bad luck. OMG, that's hilarious. He has had some bad luck, as all the drivers at some point in their careers but come on, how long can you go before you have a proper father son conversation about his future? Or, even just an employer/employee conversation? He's never performed at a level deserving of a F1 drive. He's got lucky on a few but looking at his whole F1 stint, he's just not worth the drive any more than Pedro Diniz was. There was even a website dedicated to how many crashes he had in an F1 car BEFORE he even made the first race."

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7. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 19/10/2023 14:13

"He has had some bad luck with engine failures etc... A what point is the bad luck something that comes along with him though? Next season could be his last if the difference between the two drivers remains."

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8. Posted by ClarkwasGod, 19/10/2023 13:50

"He risks his credibility. At some point (probably after securing another job) Krack or Whitmarsh need to stand up to Stroll Sr., and point out the realities and how it's harming the team, and the likely financial impact on them/him."

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9. Posted by Superbird70, 19/10/2023 13:45

"They need to get some psychological coping tips from Andrea de Cesaris."

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Lawrence Stroll cites bad luck as reason for son's poor form

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