Rosberg doubts Lance Stroll: 'Then you should think about new driver’

Former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg has spoken out firmly about Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll. The Canadian driver and son of team owner Lawrence Stroll cannot match the speed of teammate Fernando Alonso. He needs to do better, Rosberg argues in the F1 Sky Sports podcast.

According to Rosberg, it is in the team's interest for Stroll to improve quickly. It is so exciting in the constructors' championship that a bad weekend could make the difference in the final standings. "If Aston were second in the constructor’s, I think it is 30 million pounds or so more in revenues from TV money shares, from second to fourth. So there’s a lot of money at stake," the former Mercedes driver states.

New second driver?

The 2016 world champion believes something needs to change. Stroll is currently costing Aston Martin points and perhaps a higher final ranking. "Either Lance gets back to where he can be, should be, or they need to think about changing things around with the second driver." Rosberg is aware that this is difficult, as Stroll is the son of the team owner: "It is impossible for me to judge. It will rather be Lance himself saying, 'I should go and do something else.'"

Whereas Fernando Alonso has accumulated 170 points, Stroll has not gone beyond 47. If Stroll scored as many points as Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin would be by far the second team in the constructors' championship.