Mar.14 (GMM) F1 will find out “how good Stroll really is” in 2019.
That is the view of Marc Surer, a former driver who is now a F1 television pundit.
Lance Stroll has moved from Williams, the backmarker team, to his father Lawrence’s Racing Point outfit for 2019.
Many dismiss the 20-year-old Canadian as a mere pay driver, but Stroll’s new teammate Sergio Perez says he is impressed.
“Lance’s speed surprised me, but even more amazing are his statements about the car,” Mexican Perez is quoted by Speed Week.
“It is a level of maturity that you rarely see in such a young driver.
“I think people might not have had him on the radar because he drove such a bad car last year,” Perez added. “But in formula one, the car is 95 per cent.”
However, Surer thinks it will be Perez scoring the majority of Racing Point’s points in 2019.
“What I have noticed from Stroll is that sometimes he starts 19th and is 12th by the end of the first lap. I’d like to see if he can continue that from seventh, eighth, ninth.
“Comparing Stroll to Massa wasn’t right, because Massa only wanted to be faster than Stroll. That was enough for him.
“Stroll was at eye-level with Sirotkin, but he was a newcomer. How good Stroll really is, we will now find out against Perez,” said Surer.
But Surer said he is sure Stroll will not be the ‘number 1’ driver at Racing Point, even though the team is owned by his father.
“First, Sergio brings good sponsors to the team. And second, he is the experienced driver who should score points regularly. You need a leader, and Stroll cannot lead a team yet,” he said.