Racing Point’s Lance Stroll said there would be “no hard feelings” if his father and team owner Lawrence Stroll ever sacked him.
Lawrence Stroll got his son Lance his first seat in Formula 1 back in 2017 at Williams where he was team-mate to Felipe Massa in his first season.
He remained there until the end of 2018, at which point Lance made the move to the newly rebranded Racing Point entry after the team was bought by a consortium headed by Lawrence.
2019 was a tricky season for Stroll, he would largely struggle to match the performances of team-mate Sergio Perez, though he did score Racing Point’s best finish of the season with P4 at the German Grand Prix.
But the RP20 is now a far different beast compared to the machinery Stroll had to work with in 2019, and the Canadian has come on leaps and bounds alongside the car, scoring points in four of the opening five rounds whilst delivering a dominating performance over Perez at the Hungarian Grand Prix to finish P4.
There is plenty of talk about Sebastian Vettel making the move to Racing Point once they become Aston Martin next year, so understandably it’s Perez who is in-line to be cut from the team.
But what if Lawrence fired his own son?
“C’est la vie. There’s a working relationship and there’s a father/son relationship. If he cut me from the team then no hard feelings…it’s just business, it’s just how it goes sometimes,” Lance told Channel 4.
“I’d take it on the chin, move on and live to fight another day.
“It’s a pretty easy-going relationship I’ve got with him. There’s great chemistry and he doesn’t step on my toes and gives me my space.
“And he does what he has to do on the sidelines to make the car as quick as possible and put all the right people together.
“We’ve made a great team for so many years, have been riding this wave together and we’re riding a pretty good one right now.”
We still can’t get over that opening lap ?#F1 #F170 pic.twitter.com/hIHSgdMFTi
— BWT Racing Point F1 Team (@RacingPointF1) August 9, 2020
Get your hands on the official Racing Point 2020 collection via the Formula 1 store
And as for the critics who say Stroll hasn’t earned his spot on the grid, he says: “I’ve heard all the noise and heard it my whole life to be honest so I stay in my little bubble and keep the people that really matter close to me and the rest is just background noise. I just try to do my talking on the track.
Despite all the drama surrounding Racing Point, there is no doubt that they have put together a solid car for 2020.
But with a car that is based on the 2019 Mercedes comes expectation, considering how dominant the W10 was.
But Stroll doesn’t allow himself to get caught up in expectations, or feel the pressure that comes with it.
“I’m cool as a cucumber,” he said.
“Expectation I think ultimately only really tees you up for disappointment if it doesn’t work out so I try go into it with a clear mind.”
Stroll may find that the expectations of him increase if he is to go up against four-time World Champion Vettel next year, but whoever it is, Stroll is motivated to face the challenge.
“Time will tell. I’m just doing my thing on my side of the garage and whoever turns up will be another competitor and I want to go up against the best, to challenge myself as much as possible at all times,” he confirmed.
“We’ll see what happens but I’m really just focused on my thing.”
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