Lance Stroll faces being sacked by his dad unless his form for Aston Martin picks up this season, according to a former Formula 1 racer.
The Canadian has been in F1 for several years now, and made quite the impression in his debut season as he stuck his Williams on the podium at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. His seat has since been secured by his father Lawrence, who bought the Force India team which became Racing Point after the takeover.
Now known as Aston Martin, the team continues to employ Stroll alongside four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel. But while the team has struggled to be competitive this year, there is also some concern over Stroll's performances.
The Canadian has scored just two points so far in 2022, from back-to-back 10th-placed finishes at Imola and in Miami. Otherwise, he has struggled to be as competitive as Vettel who overcame a bout of Covid which delayed the start of his season to make more of a challenge for points, including his impressive result in Baku last weekend.
In the wake of a poor race from Stroll in Azerbaijan, where he failed to trouble the points even before retiring with a mechanical issue, his future with the team has been questioned. Former F1 star Johnny Herbert believes even his own father will run out of patience unless the results improve.
"Lance has had a bit of a difficult time of late," the Briton told the F1 Nation podcast. "I sometimes think there is a certain time that, if it doesn't quite happen, Lawrence has got to go 'son, I've given you a chance. It isn't quite working out. And I've got to do what's right for the team'.
"I think there will be a point that's going to happen. I don't exactly know when that will be, but it's down to Lance actually to do the job that he needs to do and consistently do that job. At the moment, it's a little bit scrappy."
Should Stroll Snr decide to make that tough decision and free up a space in his driver roster, Herbert believes Pierre Gasly would be the ideal replacement. The Frenchman's future is up in the air now Sergio Perez has secured the second seat at Red Bull, and could be tempted to leave AlphaTauri for a fresh challenge.
"I think he should be straight, straight there already," added Herbert. "I think he should already be making inquiries about exactly what they want to do and say 'yeah, I'm ready, and I'm willing to come on board. I think that's where drivers sometimes have to make those harsh decisions, if you call it that. But, from a career perspective, it'd be the right thing for him to do."
