Jacques Villeneuve believes that his Canadian countryman Lance Stroll has been the better performing driver at Aston Martin this season compared to Fernando Alonso.
While the Spaniard has outscored Stroll in the first 14 races of the 2024 season and leads his teammate in the qualifying stats 9 to 6, Villeneuve suggests that Stroll has performed better than Alonso since last April, when the latter extended his contract with Team Silverstone.
At the end of last year, after a campaign in which Stroll was comprehensively dominated by Alonso, many believed it was time for Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll to replace his son.
But Villeneuve insists that Stroll Sr. has earned the right to keep his son in his team’s second seat. The 1997 F1 world champion explained why.
“Lance Stroll is one of the most deserving drivers to continue racing in F1 because his dad bought the team,” Villeneuve told InstantCasino.com.
“Of course, he deserves to be there. Aston Martin’s team could have gone bankrupt if not for Lawrence Stroll, so he deserves to employ his son and keep him in F1, it’s simple.”
While acknowledging Stroll's privileged position, Villeneuve claims the Canadian has been performing at Alonso's level.
He points to recent struggles by the 43-year-old F1 veteran after Aston’s unsuccessful updates and mentions that Stroll has finished ahead of the Spaniard in three of the last four races before the summer break.
“Lance isn’t running last and off the pace, he’s matching Fernando Alonso’s level,” he continued.
“The minute Alonso re-signed with the team, he has struggled and Lance has looked the better driver since.”
Stroll’s solid performances predictably earned the 25-year-old a contract extension with his father’s outfit. However, Villeneuve warns his countryman that he still needs to prove his worth.
“Lance knows he’s in F1 because his dad has bought the team, now he needs to show he is quick,” Villeneuve said.
“He needs to realise there have been other millionaire drivers who had the same privileges, like Ayrton Senna, Niki Lauda, and Lando Norris.
“Lance is lucky, but there’s nothing wrong with that and he needs to show he can race fast.”
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