Lance Stroll Faces Heat After Taking a Page Out of Sebastian Vettel’s “Notebook” in Lewis Hamilton Incident

Willingly or incidentally, Lance Stroll has become the epitome of the phrase ‘digging your own grave’. Infamously known for being unworthy of an F1 seat, the Canadian has amplified Aston Martin’s problems at the Spanish GP. After an incident with a slow-moving Lewis Hamilton in FP3, both drivers were summoned to the stewards. But a clip of Stroll’s seemingly intentional attempt to collide with Hamilton has gone viral. Shades of ex-AMR driver Sebastian Vettel’s similar infamous incident with Hamilton were seen, with fans lashing out at Stroll.

At the 2017 Azerbaijan GP, race leader Hamilton allegedly brake-tested Vettel under the safety car. Frustrated with that, the then-Ferrari driver banged his car into Hamilton’s. Though he was adamant that his Mercedes rival brake-tested him, with no statistical evidence to support him, the FIA gave him a 10-second penalty for his dangerous maneuver. Stroll attempted a similar movement in FP3 today, landing him in trouble. However, the FIA only let him off with a reprimand.

In FP3, when Lance Stroll was on a fast lap, Hamilton fell victim to a late radio message from his engineer. The 7-time champion was late to see the Canadian’s AMR24 in his mirrors, and consequently, he swerved late to avoid it. “I didn’t see him. My bad,” he said on his team radio. But Stroll’s lap was already spoiled. Irate, the Canadian bumped his AMR24 into Hamilton’s W15, exclaiming, “Yeah, this ******* guy thinks he’s alone on the track!”

On the live broadcast, the collision wasn’t as prominent. But after someone posted the F1TV replay online, Stroll faced the wrath of F1 fans.

Lance Stroll blatantly disrespecting Lewis Hamilton leads to massive backlash

Lance Stroll wasn’t entirely on the receiving end of criticism. In the aftermath of the situation, the Mercedes Team Principal empathized with him while defending Lewis Hamilton’s mistake. “I kind of understand in the heat of the moment, sometimes you’re on your fast lap and you’re being blocked,” the Austrian said, adding, “But it’s never the driver’s fault.” He also emphasized how nobody sabotages a rival driver’s lap because it also opens them to receiving penalties.

But all logic aside, Stroll’s lack of control over his emotions could’ve had deadly repercussions. Even though he was let off with a simple reprimand, fans expressed their displeasure with his actions. Making a smart observation between Stroll and Vettel’s similar incidents, one fan gave their hilarious take on the subject.

This wasn’t all. Stroll’s disreputable past came knocking on his door. His disrespect towards a 7-time champion of the sport only amplified the ‘spoilt kid’ accusations he has been facing with his father, Lawrence Stroll, owning Aston Martin.

The 25-year-old’s serial underperformance hasn’t been doing him any favors. And rarely does anybody question his contract with his billionaire father backing him. Drivers who secure a seat based on sponsorship money and things other than merit are termed ‘pay drivers’. That is exactly what he was called by another fan.

Stroll getting away scot-free without a penalty only intensified the fan negativity towards the incident. The stewards called his maneuver “erratic but not dangerous”. Even the FIA became a target along with Stroll.

The nightmare didn’t quickly conclude for the Aston Martin driver. With his serial underperformance in the backdrop, another fan hilariously criticized him for not even properly banging into Hamilton, unlike Vettel. If you do something, at least don’t do it half-heartedly was the taunt in the message.

Though Lance Stroll sounds more confident this year compared to 2023, when teammate Fernando Alonso utterly outperformed him, trouble always seems to be on the horizon for him. What do you think of this incident and the FIA’s seemingly improper treatment of it?