Lance Stroll has endured plenty of struggles on the track in the 2023 F1 season, and it looks like he can’t catch a break off it now either.
The Aston Martin driver has contributed just 47 of the team’s 230 points so far this season, with Fernando Alonso outperforming him for nearly the entire campaign.
Stroll’s struggles have really come under the microscope in recent weeks, as he has failed to score a single point at the past five races and has been knocked out of Q1 in qualifying at the last four events.
With F1 landing in Austin for this weekend’s 2023 United States Grand Prix, Stroll’s weekend hasn’t got off on the right foot even though he’s yet to get into his Aston Martin car.
F1 leave Stroll off paddock billboard
As is expected at each F1 race, work is underway to transform the paddock ahead of the weekend’s action.
This includes a billboard displaying the faces of all the drivers who are set to compete in Austin. Stroll was somehow omitted, with Felipe Drugovich taking his place instead.
Unfortunately for Stroll, nobody picked up on the mistake for quite some time. It wasn’t until a mechanic from Campos Racing posted the photo on their social media account that things were rectified.
Pressure mounting on Stroll
This latest incident will likely be chalked up to just a simple mistake, but it will add to the pressure that Stroll is currently under.
Rumours continue to swirl that Stroll’s position with Aston Martin is under threat, something the team have denied.
Following the Qatar Grand Prix, Stroll suggested that the car’s rear end feels less settled to him than before, which he feels has added to his struggles
Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack is aware of the difficulties the Canadian is facing, and noted that they will have to confirm the problems before addressing them.
“I think we need to prove it first,” Krack said. “The fact is that he has lost a bit of competitively, 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.”
