Lance Stroll Reveals How Transitioning From a ‘Bad to Good Car’ Helped Him in F1

Racing Point made a giant leap in 2020 with the performance of their car by copying Mercedes‘ 2019 title-winning W10. That helped their drivers, Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll, have the best seasons of their F1 careers. And to some extent, showcase their own driving abilities.

Lance’s season, which brought him his maiden pole at Turkey, had a couple of podiums. He had to wait to go back to the post-race ceremony after grabbing his first at Baku in 2017.

Lance Stroll happy to get over his past frustrations

While he burst onto the scene in his rookie season, 2018 and 2019 were frustrating for him because of an uncompetitive car that made him question his own racing abilities.

“If you get a good car, you get good results, and then you just build confidence from there. Sometimes when I was in a bad car if anything, it kind of backfired on me,” said Stroll.

“Especially at the beginning of your career, when you’re in a bad car and you don’t know what it’s like to be in a good car until you sit in one, you kind of start to question what your ability is like, and if it is as good as the others that are in good cars because you just don’t know what a good car feels like.”

But the Canadian is at peace now after the RP20 proved its quickness over the course of the 2020 campaign. That allowed Lance to drive it to the limit and get the best out of himself as well.

“That’s one of the biggest advantages of being in a good car is what you can get out of yourself. It gives you so much more confidence driving the car. It allows you to attack the corners much harder and just push the car much harder.”

For a 21-year-old, he had a decent season. But how far can he go? Can he become a World Champion and compete with the likes of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen?