Fernando Alonso believes his Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll has the speed and talent to fight one day for the world championship in Formula 1.
At just 24, Stroll is set to embark on his seventh season in Formula 1, having made his debut in 2017 with Williams before joining his father's Racing Point outfit in 2019.
The young Canadian's track record in F1 includes three podiums and one pole position. The latter was achieved in qualifying in Turkey in 2020 after a remarkable display on a rain-soaked track.
On race day, held again in treacherous conditions, Stroll held his own at the top of the field for 32 laps before a damaged front wing thwarted his efforts and pushed him down the order to P9 where he finished.
Over the course of his career, the Canadian has shown flashes of brilliance, especially in the wet, and has proven to be one of the best starters and opening lap drivers on the grid, sure signs of a driver with great instincts.
But his performance has stagnated in the past two seasons, although in fairness to Aston's charger his team did not always supply him with a car worthy of his potential.
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"In Lance, the team has a driver who is super young, super talented and has the possibility to be World Champion," commented Alonso in an interview published by Aston Martin.
"To see him achieve that [winning the title] and have played a part in that, whether that's behind the wheel or not, will be special for me.
"He has the speed, and he has the talent. He has shown it many times, especially in wet conditions."
"I remember Lance’s pole position in Turkey and some of his other excellent performances in the wet; to perform at that level in difficult conditions you have to have a special feeling with the car."
It will be interesting to see how the intra-team rivalry plays out between Aston's drivers who are at very different stages of their career.
As a 41-year-old seasoned veteran, Alonso is undertaking a new challenge with Team Silverstone.
Asked how long he is prepared to wait for a competitive car, the two-time world champion said that he wasn't "thinking about timeframes or how long it will take to win races".
"I will take it race by race, season by season," he said. "What's important is that we keep making progress.
"We need to feel happy with each other and help each other: Aston Martin helping me to achieve the results and the targets that I have and me helping the team to progress every race, every year, to get closer and closer to the top positions.
"I will use all my experience and all my knowledge to help the team shortcut the time that is needed to become World Champions.
"Will I be behind the steering wheel when that time comes? Nobody knows. It's impossible to predict. But what is certain is that I will try my best."
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