Villeneuve: Stroll should make immediate switch to Force India
- Published on 09 Aug 2018 12:00
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Jacques Villeneuve believes that Lance Stroll should join Force India as a driver straight away. The Canadian is likely to join the Silverstone squad next year after his father, Lawrence, led a consortium to save the team and bring them out of administration.
Stroll currently races for Williams but is struggling as the British team has produced a difficult car in 2018. And 1997 world champion Villeneuve says that Stroll should waste no time and join Force India for the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of the month.
"Lance should finish the season at Force India. He should not wait. He should drive in Belgium at the end of the month. Anything can be done in F1," Villeneuve insisted. "We've seen it in the past. Driver changes during the season are doable."
Recently, Villeneuve said that Williams is a "dying" team and now believes that Stroll's money leaving is a fatal blow for the squad: "The loss not only of Lawrence, but also the sponsor (Martini) is probably the final nail in the coffin. They'll then lose a lot of TV rights because they'll be at the bottom of the championship. Even pay drivers won't want to spend money there."
Villeneuve said Force India, on the other hand, is a good acquisition for Lawrence Stroll: "The organisation is better than Williams. They only stopped developing this year because they can't afford it.
"Lawrence has always made brands grow. It's one of his strengths. He couldn't do it at Williams because he was not the owner, but his influence will be greater at Force India. He will help them. Force India remained a racing team, unlike Williams."
Fergal Walsh
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Replies (8)
Login to replyF1todayfan101
Posts: 120
Wow! JV speaking sense for the first time in a while! I have to agree on both fronts. Williams are doomed now by a failure to adapt to the modern world of F1. Lance should get in to his new seat asap and we shall watch smart people grow a team which has always done well with what they have become MercB and start hunting the front of the pack in the future.
Norbert
Posts: 108
JV also asked why Williams don’t bring in the brother. In the WILLIAMS movie they showed him in charge of the old parts warehouse! But I’m sure he picked up a bit of knowledge and instinct growing up around racing all his life. Why isn’t he in the front office?
KyalamiKid
Posts: 146
I fear his son does not have the skills to make this brand grow. Since the money comes from a consortium and not just from Stroll Sr, I wonder at which point the other backers will start complaining should Stroll Jr not deliver results.
Great to see the team saved for now, but there is going to be a huge conflict of interests in the future
F1todayfan101
Posts: 120
The negativity around stroll amazes me. He's been in, hands down, the worst car on the grid by something in the order or 3s a lap. A car which has such a lack of balance even the team admit that a front runner couldn't do any better. The boy has won each championship on his way up the grid and is still in his first few F1 seasons, yet already seems to have been deemed a no-hope. I'm not saying he's a great driver, I'm not saying that he has got the required skills but he's not had a chance to prove himself. Give the lad a break
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
It might be more financially beneficial by letting Ocon drive for FI than by Jr.Stroll.
boudy
Posts: 1,168
He's the only one of the new drivers that had an whole year of testing on circuits with an older F1 car before entering the championship. He's an OK driver around ericson level. Does he really deserve an F1 ride? The fact that so much sponsorship is required tells the story, the same story with his team mate.
Williams is a solid F1 company that will survive this nonsense and the Stroll family. Swapping Ocon for Stroll seems a swap that will be possible considering that Mercedes will need to house him somewhere.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
If Merc. sets up Ocon an McLaren, it would be fun to watch Ocon's performance against Alonso. He can't do worse than Vandoorne, despite what Fernando like to market his offset to other drivers.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I mean at this rate that seat could already be his. But Im sure the fact that Perez has very deep pockets and Ocon being Mercedes' sugarboy do complicate the matter.