Stroll linked to Force India in summer speculation

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Reports from the Italian media have linked current Williams driver Lance Stroll and his father with a move to Force India next season.

Specialist Italiaracing publication has speculated that billionaire fashion mogul Lawrence Stroll is interested in acquiring a stake in the team.

If so, it's almost certain that his 18-year-old son - currently a rookie driver with Williams - will also make the switch.

It might just be the usual sort of chatter we usually get during the silly season. However, that's not to say it's entirely lacking in foundation.

Force India is considering changing its name in 2018. It's believed that the team will drop 'India' and become Force F1 in a bid to attract new sponsors to the team.

Current team boss Vijay Mallya says that more investment is needed if Force India is to maintain and improve upon its current fourth place in the constructors standings.

"With a little bit more in our pocket we can make that incremental step," he said. "And certainly fight in the top three consistently."

Still too early to judge Stroll - Prost

Lawrence Stroll certainly has the money and the personal involvement to fit the bill. After a difficult start in Formula 1 since making his race début, his son Lance is now finding his feet.

The Canadian teen finished in the points for the first time in Canada. He then claimed a podium with third place in Baku, and backed that up with a further top ten spot in Austria.

Stroll's performance has certainly caught the eye of Formula 1's new boss Chase Carey. He said Stroll's success in Baku had been one of his favourite moments of 2017 so far.

"In sport, it's a great story when an underdog suddenly has success," Carey told Auto Bild.

"Stroll had to listen to all that criticism for months," Carey noted. "And everything about his father's money as well.

"Then he did his reply on the track in Baku. I would like to see more of that."

Naturally there was no official word from anyone involved regarding the possible move to Force India for the Strolls.

However, it might nonetheless cause a ripple of concern at Williams with the hint that things might not be as settled at Grove as had been thought.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.