STROLL & SON LIMITED
Podium finishes have had the corks popping at a resurgent Aston Martin this season, but as Andrew Benson delves into the inner workings of the F1 team, he asks if its billionaire owner’s plan to bring a world title to his misfiring son has run its course
Lawrence Stroll is a man who knows what he wants, and has the money to ensure he gets it. Formerly a businessman who invested in fashion brands, Stroll is now a billionaire Formula 1 team owner, and what he wants is to turn that team into a vehicle that can make his son Lance world champion.
Stroll Sr has said he believes this is “absolutely achievable”. But while it remains to be seen whether his son can justify Stroll’s faith, the immediate task is one of team building. And so far project Stroll – aka the Aston Martin F1 team – is progressing well.
Aston Martin finished last year’s F1 world championship in seventh place. That position rather belied the progress they had made through the year, which they started with just about the slowest car on track, but ended with Lance Stroll and former teammate Sebastian Vettel regularly competing on track with Alpine and McLaren, the two teams that had contested fourth place in the championship.
Even so, no one was expecting the quantum leap that happened at the start of 2023. Stroll’s new team-mate Fernando Alonso, signed from Alpine to replace Vettel, was an immediate podium contender and he and his new team became arguably the story of the first half of the season.
Alonso scored six podium finishes in the first eight races, and in Monaco, where the Spaniard was the only driver able to stay in touch with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, he could have won had Aston Martin made a different tyre choice at a pitstop during a late rain shower.
At the summer break, Aston Martin were third in the constructors’ championship, behind only Red Bull and Mercedes, and Alonso third in the drivers’ title race behind Verstappen and his team-mate Sergio Pérez.
Even allowing for a slump through the summer and into the autumn, and a drop of a couple of positions in both championships, it is one of the most remarkable turnarounds ever seen in F1, and it has confirmed Aston Martin’s presence at the sport’s top table.
What might appear an overnight sensation, though, is anything but. The foundations of this year’s achievements started to be laid five years ago.
In August 2018, Stroll saved the Force India team from administration and gav
