Nico Rosberg says Lance Stroll must get his act together as Aston Martin cannot afford in the long term to have a driver so far away from Fernando Alonso.
Stroll's results in F1 have somewhat stagnated in the past few seasons, with noteworthy performances few and far between.
The Canadian was outscored by Sebastian Vettel in 2022, but the 24-year-old's affairs have only gotten worse this year with Fernando Alonso by his side.
The current 123-point deficit between the Spaniard and Stroll in F1's Drivers' standings must be seen as a cause for concern in the Aston camp, as the latter's underperformance is obviously weighing on the outfit's subsequent position in the Constructors' championship.
That translates into a significant financial shortfall for Team Silverstone, a state of affairs that isn't sustainable in the long term reckons Rosberg.
"I really don’t know what has happened to Stroll because he is a very good driver," Rosberg told Sky Sports F1 at Monza last weekend.
"He showed at the start of this season that he can be close to Fernando. I think in the long term, Aston Martin can’t afford to have a driver who is so far away.
"Either Lance gets back to where he can be and where he should be, or they will have to consider whether to continue with him as a second driver."
Rosberg also argued that Aston – like any front-running team – needs to have an emulation between its two drivers to boost its results.
"Because you also have to push Fernando," added the 2016 F1 World Champion.
"The setup work is much better when there are two drivers involved. You have a completely different dynamic, so it is very important to have two drivers who are very fast."
Despite the speculation surrounding Stroll future, Aston Martin confirmed that its driver line-up will remain unchanged for 2024.
At Monza, queried on Stroll's deficit to Alonso, Aston team boss suggested that the Canadian's shortfall this season has been rooted in circumstances rather than in absolute performance.
"I think, in general, between drivers there is always a certain gap that you would say is, I would say not normal, but circumstantial," Krack explained.
"Sometimes you have a bit of traffic, sometimes one has a glitch in one corner, but I think the drivers are normally within three tenths.
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