‘Sack him immediately’ – Fresh Lance Stroll criticism emerges after Chinese GP controversy

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.

After Lance Stroll drew the ire of Daniel Ricciardo by not accepting blame for driving into the back of him in China, the call has come for Stroll to face the immediate sack at Aston Martin.

This comes from Danish racer turned Formula 1 pundit Jason Watt, who believes Stroll’s time as a Formula 1 driver should be up, after that incident with Ricciardo only added fuel to the fire on speculation over the 25-year-old’s future.

Aston Martin told to sack Lance Stroll

Stroll ploughed into the back of Ricciardo’s RB ahead of a Safety Car restart at the Chinese GP, lifting the RB off the ground and inflicting enough damage to force Ricciardo’s retirement later in the race. Stroll did not accept blame, instead saying a “concertina effect” triggered the shunt, while Ricciardo was enraged by Stroll’s “idiot” outburst over team radio.

The Canadian insisted that was not a word directly aimed at Ricciardo, who had a “f*ck that guy” assessment of his own to send back to Stroll.

F1 2024 has brought continued struggles for Stroll in his battle against two-time World Champion team-mate Fernando Alonso, with talk continuing to bubble away that Stroll could leave the team owned by his billionaire father Lawrence.

In Watt’s opinion, Stroll should be shown the door right now.

“Give him the sack immediately,” wrote Watt, who serves as the F1 analyst for Ekstra Bladet.

One-half of Aston Martin’s F1 2025 line-up is set, with Alonso having recently agreed a new multi-year deal to remain with the Silverstone-based squad, a contract which will see him race into the team’s new Honda-powered era in 2026.

And in Stroll, Watt believes that Alonso currently has the weakest team-mate anywhere on the F1 grid.

“[Alonso] is driving alongside the worst driver in the field, in my eyes,” Watt bluntly claimed.

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It seems almost impossible that Stroll would exit Aston Martin not of his own will, considering Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack recently admitted that their F1 project revolves around him.

However, while Stroll will not be pushed out of the team, Krack interestingly suggested that the coming weeks will be crucial on determining Stroll’s F1 future.

Speaking to media ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix about Aston Martin’s driver situation, Krack said: “Last week, it was mainly about Fernando. But we also know that Aston Martin is Lance’s home.

“We know that and the whole project has always been around him.

“So we look for continuity. I’ve always said that that is very important. So we will see in the next weeks.”

Carlos Sainz – who is on the lookout for a new team with Lewis Hamilton set to take his Ferrari seat in 2025 – has been talked up as a strong option for Aston Martin.