Ralf Schumacher doesn’t do diplomacy. The former F1 driver and now brutally unfiltered pundit sat down with Bild and dropped the kind of take that Aston Martin’s PR team probably wishes had stayed off record. His verdict on Lance Stroll? Ruthless.
“If he really wants to become world champion, he has to fire his son.”
That’s Ralf talking directly about Lawrence Stroll, Aston Martin’s billionaire boss and father of Lance. For emphasis, he pointed to the stat that just refuses to go away:
“Lance’s 0-27 qualifying loss to his teammate Fernando Alonso says it all.”
It’s not just a throwaway jab — it’s the longest active streak in Formula 1. Twenty-seven weekends in a row, Alonso ahead. Twenty-seven.
Ralf didn’t stop there:
“The father has to decide: emotions or success.”
“If he’s serious, he’ll have to completely rethink the driver line-up for 2026. I think he knows that, but the decision is difficult for him.”
Here’s the Thing
I don’t always agree with Ralf Schumacher. Sometimes his takes feel more like tabloid shockwaves than measured analysis. But on this? He’s right. Painfully, obviously right.
Lance Stroll’s Formula 1 career has lasted longer than anyone would have predicted without the Lawrence factor. There were moments of promise — a podium in Baku, some flashes in wet races — but consistency never arrived. And when you’re being buried 27–0 in qualifying by a 44-year-old Alonso, there’s no PR spin strong enough to make that acceptable.
The truth is simple: Aston Martin can’t sell themselves as title contenders with Lance still in one of the seats. Not in 2026, not in any season. The sport has moved on, and Aston Martin has invested too heavily in infrastructure, Newey’s brainpower, and a 2026 reset to keep carrying dead weight out of family loyalty.
Ralf put it in his blunt way — “fire your son” — but the underlying message is the same: success or sentimentality. Formula 1 rarely allows both.
And here’s my line: Lance Stroll’s time in Formula 1 has already gone on too long. It’s been a comfortable ride, padded by his father’s billions, but the evidence on track has spoken. He’s not the worst driver of all time. But he’s not good and consistent enough. We don’t even know if he wants to be in F1 really. If Aston Martin truly wants to play with Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren, the Stroll era needs to end.
