01 February 2023 , 20:08
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Lance Stroll has looked ahead to his partnership with Fernando Alonso this year, after two seasons racing with Sebastian Vettel which made him "a better racing driver".
The upcoming campaign will be Stroll's seventh as a Formula 1 driver. He made his debut with Williams back in 2017 before a move to the Racing Point team in 2019 after it was bought by his billionaire dad Lawrence and later rebranded into its current Aston Martin guise.
The Canadian feels the last two years in particular, working with four-time world champion Vettel, have been crucial in his development. "He's extremely experienced, and very talented. A four-time champion, so that says it all," Stroll told Autosport of his now former team-mate.
"It's really just been a lot of fun. I mean, he's been a competitor in the car, but I think he's really pushed me to understand different things, like how to approach the weekend, how to adapt my work ethic, and be a better racing driver. I definitely learned a lot from him in that regard, just watching how he does his things.
He's definitely also just helped push the team forward and bring some ideas from his past experience at other top teams, like Ferrari and Red Bull. I think that that was huge. Plus, on top of all that stuff, he's just been just a cool guy outside of the car. And super nice. And that makes the seasons more pleasant."
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This year, Stroll will be partnered by another veteran in Alonso. The Spaniard is a double world champion himself and also one of the more talented drivers the sport has seen in recent decades, though he does come with a reputation of regularly falling out with team-mates.
Stroll feels he learned a lot from Sebastian Vettel (PA)Rather than be unnerved by that trend, though, Stroll says he is relishing the challenge. He added: "It's no fun when you're just kind of driving around with no-one pushing you. I think what you want in a team-mate is a guy that is at the top of his game.
"It means that when you get more out of it than him, you're really at the top of your game, and vice versa. When you're not getting the most out of it, it's not that you can just sit back and relax. You've got to try and work harder.
"It's always interesting and exciting when someone like him, or like Seb, comes to the team and has different ideas, or drives in a different way, and maybe wants different things in the car. It's always interesting to hear what guys with that kind of experience have to say. In that sense, I'm definitely looking forward to having him in the team and working with him."