Stroll launches passionate defence of father's Aston Martin project
Stroll launches passionate defence of father's Aston Martin project
Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale
Lance Stroll has praised the "unbelievable" job his father has done to create the Aston Martin F1 project after taking over the beleaguered Force India outfit in 2018.
The Silverstone-based team entered administration as Force India in the summer of that year before a Lawrence Stroll-led consortium completed a takeover.
After initially renaming the squad as Racing Point, a rebuilding process then began that led to the team taking victory in the Sakhir Grand Prix last season.
A further rebranding to Aston Martin followed over the winter, with the famous name returning to F1 after a 61-year absence, leading to the younger Stroll lauding the efforts of his dad.
"I don't know how people perceive it but all I can say, from everything I have seen first hand over the last two years, it is unbelievable what he has done and how he has put this project together with Aston Martin and how this team has transformed over the last two years," said Stroll.
"It is so incredible. He's just got an incredible vision and has had it since he got this team.
"We went from a team that in Hungary, for example, in 2019 we qualified 17th and 18th, and in 2020 we qualified third and fourth and improved 3.1 seconds in terms of lap time.
"Put that into perspective, give that some thought. That is down to the incredible job that my dad has done."
Force India and then Racing Point long impressed with its ability to compete at the top of the midfield on a small-scale budget.
Stroll is now hopeful the injection of cash brought by his father's acquisition and the Aston Martin influence will provide an opportunity for the team's workforce to prosper.
"[Lawrence] has given the tools to the incredibly talented people at this factory and everyone that works for this team," added Stroll Jr.
"They did such a great job for so many years punching above their weight, now we can really just move forward. There are so many exciting times ahead of us."
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