Stroll set for Force India switch at Monza in HUGE driver change

Lance Stroll could be on for a switch to Racing Point Force India by the time Formula One has made its way to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix. The Canadian has been linked with the move from Williams ever since his father Lawrence Stroll led a successful bid by a consortium to save the Force India team from administration.

His move would set off a chain reaction of driver changes that would include Esteban Ocon, Robert Kubica, Stoffel Vandoorne and Marcus Ericsson. The rumours circulating the paddock point to the changes occurring before next weeks race at Monza, and settling the driver market for the time being in 2018.

According to Racefans, Stroll is set for a seat fitting at Racing Point Force India to facilitate his mid-season move to the team which would place him alongside Sergio Perez for the remainder of the season.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Perez gave praise to Stroll ahead of the change which would see him line-up alongside the Mexican.

“I think it’s so hard to know someone as a driver when you are not being alongside him. There is so much difference in Formula 1 across teams performance, between cars you see difference of two-and-a-half seconds or so. So it’s very hard to judge a driver.

“I think he’s grown up, he has good experience now with two years at Williams, we’ll see what he’s able to do in that regard. It’s very hard to judge someone when they’re not your teammate.”

Should Stroll make the move to Force India, it would leave Ocon without a seat however McLaren is reportedly interested in securing his services and replacing Vandoorne. Vandoorne would then be a target of Sauber, with team principal Fred Vasseur a fan of the Belgian's and would then replace Ericsson who would be without a drive for the rest of the season. The path for Kubica's F1 return would then be clear and he would take the empty seat at Williams until the end of the season.