“Overhated and Underrated”: Unlikely Plaudits for Lance Stroll as the F1 World Salutes His Bahrain Heroics

Qualifying in Bahrain was quite a hoot, undoubtedly one of the best, and certainly raised our hopes for the season ahead. But one thing that emerged from it was an unlikely hero for many. And no, we’re not talking about Fernando Alonso, but rather his teammate and Aston Martin’s hero, Lance Stroll, who landed a P8 finish in qualifying despite recovering from a wrist injury.

Lance Stroll’s performance on Saturday is being appreciated due to the fact that he’s marking a successful return within two weeks since he underwent surgery. Not only the fans lauded his effort, but his teammate Fernando Alonso and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon were also quick to congratulate the Canadian driver.

The performance also seemed to have marked an epic turnaround from the sport’s fans, who haven’t been easy on the driver over the years, especially after Alonso’s recent praise, mostly because of his father’s immense monetary support. The fans appreciated the drive by Stroll and acknowledged the work that he has put in for his quick comeback.

Lance Stroll gains immense fan support

Aston Martin’s hype-train is no longer being driven by Alonso alone. After Stroll missed out on testing, nothing out of the ordinary was expected of him. While many fans called his fastest lap an underperformance due to Alonso’s P5, they failed to factor in the injury that he has endured.

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Stroll was supported by fans in the comment section, with a few of them saying, “Hand in hand most underrated driver on the grid”, “the result is actually impressive after his accident” and “Overhated and underrated”.

Other users added their testimony for Stroll’s driving, saying, “I actually became a fan of his after all the hate he got and the amount of times he showed he can drive. Yes he makes mistakes and he’s not a rookie anymore so no excuses but he can drive”, while other added, “Hopefully this will be a season he can show off what he can do and how much he’s improved.”

“Top 10 redemption arcs”,

“After a few years people still hate him juz bcoz her father own the team, he is good in performance especially today when still rcovering from injury. Juz accpt his advantages in F1, @lance_stroll hve the talent and alwys improve. All d best to him for 2023”,

“how do people not like this guy?” were a few of the other expressions of support that he received.

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Stroll’s performance during the race will actually determine his ability to drive with a healing wrist. If he does manage to pull off even a points finish, that’ll be enough to prove his talent and skills.