As of the2025 Chinese Grand Prix, Stroll has achieved one pole position and three podiums in Formula One. Stroll is contracted to remain at Aston Martin until at least the end of the 2026 season.[1] Outside of Formula One, Stroll competed in two editions of the24 Hours of Daytona in2016 and2018 withCGR andJackie Chan DC, respectively.
Early and personal life
Lance Strulovitch was born on 29 October 1998 inMontreal.[2] Stroll is the son of Canadian billionaire businessmanLawrence Stroll (part-owner of theAston Martin Formula One team) and Belgian fashion designer Claire-Anne Callens, and has an older sister namedChloe.[3][4][5] His parents are divorced and his father has since remarried to Raquel Diniz.[6] He is ofRussian Jewish descent from his father's side.[7] Stroll races under the Canadian flag and holds both Canadian and Belgian citizenship.[8][9] He is multilingual, speakingEnglish,French,Flemish Dutch, andItalian.[10]
Junior racing career
Like many racing drivers, the Geneva-based Canadian began his motorsport career inkarting at the age of 10.[11] He recorded numerous race and championship wins in his native Canada and North America and in 2008, his first year of karting, he won the Federation de Sport Automobile du Quebec rookie of the year award and driver of the year in 2009.[11][12] In 2010, Stroll became a member of theFerrari Driver Academy.[13]
Stroll made his competitive car racing debut in the2014 Italian F4 Championship, driving forPrema Powerteam. Despite missing the final round due to injury, Stroll emerged as series champion, taking seven race wins, thirteen podium finishes, and five pole positions.
Formula Three
Stroll competing in Formula Three, 2015
2015
At the beginning of 2015, Stroll won theNew Zealand-basedToyota Racing series, recording 10 podiums – including four wins – from 16 race starts. In the same year, he also contested theFIA Formula 3 European Championship with Prema Powerteam, in which his father by this time had taken a stake.[14] He competed against future Formula One competitorsAntonio Giovinazzi,Charles Leclerc,George Russell andAlexander Albon, winning one race at theHockenheimring and achieving six total podium finishes in the 33-race series. He ended the season 5th in the championship. 2015 also marked Stroll's first and only appearance at the non-championship Formula ThreeMacau Grand Prix, in which he finished in 8th place.
On 11 November 2015, it was announced that Stroll would leave the Ferrari Driver Academy to serve as a test driver forWilliams.
2016
Stroll began 2016 by finishing 5th at the2016 24 Hours of Daytona, driving forFord Chip Ganassi Racing in a Ford EcoBoost Prototype. He remained with Prema Powerteam for a third consecutive year to compete in his second season of the Formula 3 European Championship. Prior to the season, his father Lawrence hired Ferrari chief track engineerLuca Baldisserri to be Stroll's race engineer.[15][16] He won the first race atCircuit Paul Ricard before taking a record 13 more race victories over the season, including five consecutive victories in the final five races. He claimed the title with four races to go and ended the season a record 187 points clear of nearest competitorMaximilian Günther.[17]
Throughout the season, Stroll and his team were accused of manufacturing his title via team orders to his teammates. This was highlighted byGeorge Russell, who stated atLe Castellet, where Stroll had inherited the lead from a slowingNick Cassidy, who ended up finishing second, that "it's not a fair fight".[18]
Stroll crashed in practice for his debut race, theAustralian Grand Prix, and received a grid penalty as this necessitated an unscheduled gearbox change.[21] He retired from the race with a brake failure. Two more retirements followed after collisions withSergio Pérez at theChinese Grand Prix andCarlos Sainz Jr. at theBahrain Grand Prix. Stroll's first race finish came at theRussian Grand Prix, where he finished in eleventh despite spinning on the first lap.[22] He retired with a brake failure at theMonaco Grand Prix, but was still classified fifteenth. Stroll scored his first Formula One points at hishome Grand Prix in Montreal, finishing in ninth place.
At theAzerbaijan Grand Prix, Stroll had run in second place in the closing laps, but was passed byValtteri Bottas just metres from the finish line. He finished third to become the youngest rookie and the second-youngest driver afterMax Verstappen to finish on the podium in Formula One, at the age of 18 years and 239 days.[23]becoming thesecond-youngest driver to score a podium finish and the youngest to do so during their rookie season.[24]
Stroll registered the fourth fastest time during a wet qualifying session for theItalian Grand Prix. Due to Red Bull driversDaniel Ricciardo andMax Verstappen (respectively third and second) taking grid penalties, Stroll was promoted to second place on the starting grid, making him the youngest Formula One driver to start on the front row at the age of 18 years and 310 days.[25] Stroll finished seventh in the race. He recorded two eighth-place finishes at theSingapore (where he started eighteenth) andMalaysian Grands Prix. At the latter, Stroll andSebastian Vettel collided on the cool-down lap after the end of the race. Both drivers blamed the other for the incident, however no action was taken by the stewards.[26]
At theMexican Grand Prix, Stroll worked his way up to sixth place in the race from eleventh on the grid.[27] Stroll ended the season twelfth in the standings, one place below teammate Massa who had both outqualified and outraced Stroll 17–2 and 9–4 (in races both drivers finished) respectively.[28] Furthermore, Stroll gained more positions on the opening lap than any other driver that year.[29]
For the2018 season, Stroll remained with Williams, partnered bySergey Sirotkin after Massa retired from Formula One. TheWilliams FW41 was the slowest car of the field and the team finished last in the constructors' championship that season. Stroll scored the team's first points of the year at theAzerbaijan Grand Prix by finishing eighth. Stroll's home race, theCanadian Grand Prix, ended on the first lap after a heavy collision withBrendon Hartley. He then retired from the followingFrench Grand Prix with a tire puncture. His second and final retirement of the year came at theGerman Grand Prix with a brake failure. Stroll made his only appearance in the third qualifying session (Q3) at theItalian Grand Prix, qualifying tenth. He went on to finish ninth in the race with teammate Sirotkin in tenth, marking Williams' only double points-finish that season.
Stroll finished eighteenth in the Drivers' Championship, scoring six of the team's seven points. Sirotkin out-qualified Stroll at twelve of the twenty-one races.[30]
Stroll switched to driving for the newly renamedRacing Point team for the2019 season after the team was bought by a consortium of investors led by his father Lawrence. He replacedEsteban Ocon at the team and raced alongside Sergio Pérez.[31][32] Stroll scored his first points for his new team at the season-openingAustralian Grand Prix, finishing ninth. At theChinese Grand Prix, Stroll criticized team strategy after finishing outside of the point-scoring positions for the second consecutive race.[33][34] At theSpanish Grand Prix he was involved in a collision withLando Norris that ended both drivers' races. He finished ninth at theCanadian Grand Prix having started seventeenth.
In qualifying at theGerman Grand Prix, Stroll progressed past the first qualifying session (Q1), ending a streak of fourteen Grands Prix in which he had been eliminated in Q1. He switched to slick tires late in the race as the track was drying, elevating him to second place. He missed out on a podium after being overtaken byDaniil Kvyat and Sebastian Vettel. Stroll's next points finish came at theBelgian Grand Prix, where he started sixteenth and finished tenth. He scored his final points of the season after finishing ninth at theJapanese Grand Prix. Stroll retired from the final two races of the season, suffering a suspension failure at theBrazilian Grand Prix and brake issues at theAbu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Stroll ended his first season at Racing Point fifteenth in the Drivers' Championship with 21 points, below teammate Pérez's tally of 52 points. He was out-qualified by Pérez at eighteen of the season's twenty-one races.[35]
Stroll and Pérez were retained by Racing Point for2020.[36] As a result of Canada's national sporting authority resigning its mandate from theFIA, Stroll raced under an American licence but was still recognised as Canadian on race weekends.[37] During theAustrian Grand Prix, he qualified in ninth place but later retired from the race following engine problems. His first points finish of the season came at theStyrian Grand Prix. He finished seventh having overtakenDaniel Ricciardo in a move Ricciardo described as "desperate" and deserving of a penalty.[38] Stroll qualified third and finished fourth at theHungarian Grand Prix and followed this with four more points finishes including fourth place at theSpanish Grand Prix. Stroll claimed his second Formula One podium at theItalian Grand Prix.[39] He was in second place when the race restarted after ared flag period before being passed by multiple cars includingPierre Gasly. Stroll later suggested that his poor restart cost him the chance to win the race after Gasly claimed victory.[40] After eight races, Stroll was in fourth place in the Drivers' Championship.
A string of retirements followed beginning with theTuscan Grand Prix, where a mechanical failure caused him to crash heavily, having been running in fourth place.[41] He was eliminated from theRussian Grand Prix on the first lap after contact withCharles Leclerc caused him to hit a wall. He then withdrew from theEifel Grand Prix prior to qualifying due to illness, having sat out the third practice session.[42] His team confirmed he did not haveCOVID-19, saying he had passed all necessary FIA tests in this regard.[43] He was replaced at the event byNico Hülkenberg.[44] Shortly after the race, Stroll tested positive for COVID-19. He completed a 10-day isolation period and returned to racing at thePortuguese Grand Prix,[45] in which he collided with Lando Norris. This caused Stroll's eventual retirement from the race, his fourth consecutive non-finish.
Stroll took his first pole position at theTurkish Grand Prix after a wet qualifying session. In doing so, he became the firstCanadian F1 driver to take pole position since Jacques Villeneuve at the1997 European Grand Prix.[46] Stroll led the race for 32 of the 58 laps, but reported severetire graining and eventually fell to ninth place by the end of the race. After the race, Racing Point found damage on Stroll's front wing which they named as the cause of his tire issues.[47] Shortly after theBahrain Grand Prix was restarted followingRomain Grosjean's accident, Stroll's car was flipped over after making contact withDaniil Kvyat at turn eight. Stroll was uninjured and was able to extract himself from the car.[48] At theSakhir Grand Prix, he benefited from tire issues for the leadingMercedes cars to finish third, earning his third podium in Formula One.[49]
At the end of the season, Stroll stood eleventh in the Drivers' Championship, scoring 75 of the team's 210 points.[b]
Stroll continued to drive for the Racing Point team in2021 as the team rebranded toAston Martin.[50] He was partnered by Sebastian Vettel in place of Pérez.[51] Stroll qualified and finished tenth in the season-openingBahrain Grand Prix. A video of him driving over acurb at theMonaco Grand Prix became a popularinternet meme, used as a bait-and-switch similar torickrolling, after the official broadcast interrupted a battle between Vettel, Pierre Gasly andLewis Hamilton to show a replay of Stroll driving over the curbs.[52] A high-speed tire failure at theAzerbaijan Grand Prix ended Stroll's race. A similar incident then happened to Max Verstappen later in the race, prompting tire manufacturerPirelli to conduct an investigation into the failures.[53] Stroll scored a point with tenth place at theFrench Grand Prix, having started nineteenth after being unable to set a representative lap time in qualifying.
Stroll caused a collision on the first lap of theHungarian Grand Prix that eliminated himself and Charles Leclerc from the race and caused Daniel Ricciardo significant damage. As a result, Stroll was issued a five-place grid penalty for the next race, theBelgian Grand Prix. He finished seventh at theItalian Grand Prix, his best finish of the season thus far, but collided with both Vettel and Pierre Gasly at theRussian Grand Prix, for which he received a ten-second penalty.[54] He crashed in qualifying at theMexico City Grand Prix and finished fourteenth. His best result of the season came at theQatar Grand Prix with a sixth-place finish. Stroll ended the season thirteenth in the Drivers' Championship, scoring 34 points to Vettel's 43.
Aston Martin retained Stroll and Vettel for the2022 season. Stroll was in eleventh place in the closing laps of theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix, but lost places after a collision withAlex Albon. He failed to set a qualifying time at theAustralian Grand Prix due to a crash withNicholas Latifi for which Stroll was penalised.[55] He made three pit stops during the race and later received a penalty for weaving on the straight when defending against Valtteri Bottas, finishing twelfth.[56] Stroll took his first points of the year with tenth at theEmilia Romagna Grand Prix,[57] and followed it up with another tenth place finish inMiami,[58] despite a collision withKevin Magnussen.[59] He crashed in qualifying at theAzerbaijan Grand Prix and retired from the race with mechanical issues.
More tenth-place finishes came at theCanadian,French andDutch Grands Prix.[60] He came close to points at theBritish Grand Prix, where he started twentieth and finished eleventh, and at theHungarian Grand Prix, where he was running eighth before being spun around by Daniel Ricciardo.[61] Stroll's best result of the season came with sixth place at theSingapore Grand Prix, and he achieved his best grid position since his2020 Turkish Grand Prix pole position at theUnited States Grand Prix, starting fifth. He ran as high as third in the opening laps but was eliminated in a high-speed collision withFernando Alonso. A penalty for dangerous defending against teammate Vettel in theSão Paulo Grand Prix sprint dropped Stroll to fifteenth on the grid for the race, in which he recovered to score a point in tenth place. He scored more points at theAbu Dhabi Grand Prix, starting fourteenth and finishing eighth. Stroll ended the season fifteenth in the Drivers' Championship with 18 points to Vettel's 37.[62]
Stroll remained with Aston Martin for2023, partnered with Fernando Alonso who replaced the retiring Vettel.[63] Stroll missed all three days of pre-season testing atBahrain International Circuit after suffering a cycling accident while training.[64][65] He sustained multiple injuries in the accident including fractures in both wrists and a broken toe.[66] Minor surgery was performed on his right wrist with metal screws being inserted.[67] He was replaced by reserve driverFelipe Drugovich for the test, but returned for the season-openingBahrain Grand Prix.[68][69] In the second free practice session, he reported lingering pain from his wrists that forced him to adopt a relaxed style of driving; he said that while he felt "rather stiff", he "felt alright" in the car.[70][71] Stroll qualified eighth for the race[72][73] and finished sixth despite a first-lap collision with teammate Alonso.[74][75] He started fifth at theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix but retired from the race with engine issues.[76] He finished fourth at theAustralian Grand Prix, his best result of the year, despite first-lap contact with Charles Leclerc and later running into the gravel at the second restart.[77]
Stroll scored points in the sprint and main race at theAzerbaijan Grand Prix, but failed to score at theMiami Grand Prix after being eliminated in Q1. Damage from an accident caused his retirement from the followingMonaco Grand Prix. He scored points at the next three races, including finishing ninth from sixteenth at the start in theCanadian Grand Prix, and fourth place at theAustrian Grand Prix sprint. He finished eleventh at theBritish Grand Prix but was demoted by a penalty for colliding with Pierre Gasly. He scored points at theHungarian andBelgian Grands Prix, despite crashing in the sprint shootout at the latter. He finished outside the top ten at theDutch andItalian Grands Prix; his practice running atMonza was curtailed by a fuel system failure and he then qualified in last place. A heavy crash in qualifying at theSingapore Grand Prix caused his withdrawal from the weekend, with Aston Martin team principalMike Krack stating that Stroll was "still feeling the after-effects" of the accident.[78]
After qualifying seventeenth at theQatar Grand Prix, 1.1 seconds behind teammate Alonso's time, Stroll appeared to push his personal trainer in frustration as he exited the vehicle.[79] He finished ninth in the race but was demoted outside the points positions with a track limits penalty.[80] He started from the pit lane at theUnited States Grand Prix but recovered to finish the race ninth; he was later promoted to seventh after the disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc and scored his first points in six races.[81] Stroll started from the pit lane again at theMexico City Grand Prix and retired with damage from a collision with Valtteri Bottas. He achieved his best qualifying result since 2020 at theSão Paulo Grand Prix with third place, ahead of Alonso,[82] and finished fifth. He gained nine places from his starting position at theLas Vegas Grand Prix to again finish fifth. Stroll ended the season tenth in the Drivers' Championship, the highest ranking in his Formula One career. He scored 74 points to Alonso's 206 and was outqualified by Alonso at nineteen of the season's twenty-two races.[83] Team principal Krack defended Stroll's performance relative to Alonso, stating that despite the points difference, "there [was] not a marked gap in performance" between the two and confirmed that Stroll would remain with the team alongside Alonso for2024.[84]
Stroll started the 2024 season with a tenth place finish at theBahrain Grand Prix. He then qualified tenth at theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix, but crashed out on lap 7 after hitting the wall at turn 23. He bounced back inAustralia, qualifying ninth and finishing sixth. Following the weekend, it was announced that Stroll's race engineer Ben Michell would be replaced by Andrew Vizard.[85]
For the first sprint weekend of the season inChina, Stroll qualified 15th for the sprint and finished the shorter race 14th. He then qualified 11th for the main race, but the main race was a disaster as Stroll finished 15th after being given a 10 second penalty for crashing into the back ofDaniel Ricciardo on lap 26 following a safety car restart. After the race Ricciardo was furious with Stroll saying "I watched his onboard and he's not even looking at me, he's look at the apex, I don't know why he's not looking at the car in front."[86]
Stroll then qualified 7th for the sprint inMiami but retired on lap 1 due to teammate Alonso sliding into him after a collision between his teammate andLewis Hamilton. He qualified 11th for the main race but finished 17th after a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Stroll then qualified 13th at theEmilia Romagna Grand Prix but finished in 9th scoring his first points since Australia.[87]
Stroll then qualified 13th for theMonaco Grand Prix but finished 14th after throwing his chance for points away when he got a puncture after hitting the wall in the middle of the race.[88] Stroll bounced back with a seventh-place finish at his home race inCanada,[89] and achieved further points inBritain[90] andHungary. However, this would end up being Stroll's last points result of the season, one which he finished 13th overall.[91] Of note was an error-strewn weekend inBrazil, where Stroll crashed during the qualifying session, lost his car under braking on the formation lap, and beached his car in the gravel while trying to recover back to the track.[92][93]
^Racing Point drivers scored a total of 210 points, however the team was deducted 15 points in the Constructors' Championship due to a ruling on the legality of their car, leaving the team on 195 points. This deduction did not affect points earned in the Drivers' Championship.