27/06/2022
NEWS STORY
Johnny Herbert has called on Aston Martin team owner, Lawrence Stroll to consider dropping his son Lance.
Out-qualified by teammate Sebastian Vettel 14-8 in 2021 and scoring 34 points to the German's 43, things haven't been any easier this year, with the 23-year-old, out-qualified 6-1 and just 3 points to his credit compared to his teammate's 13.
"Lance has had a bit of a difficult time lately," racer turned TV pundit, Herbert tells the F1 Nation podcast. "I sometimes think there is a certain time that, if it doesn't happen for him, Lawrence has got to say to his son; 'I've given you a chance, it isn't quite working out, now I have to do the right thing for the team'.
"There will be a point that's going to happen," Herbert believes. "I don't exactly know when that will be, but it is down to Lance to do the job that he needs to do and consistently do that job. At the moment, it's a little bit scrappy."
Should Stroll Snr take his advice, Herbert believes the ideal replacement would be Pierre Gasly, who last week confirmed that he will remain with AlphaTauri for 2023.
"He has to do what Daniel did, break away," says Herbert of the Frenchman's ties with Red Bull, a move back to the 'big team' now clearly out of the question.
"I think he should be straight there already making inquiries for exactly what they want to do and say, 'Yeah, I'm ready and willing to come onboard'."
For his part, Stroll claims to have no confidence in the AMR2.
"We're always learning, but I think on my side, I want to get into a better, more comfortable place with the car," he said recently. "I still feel like I'm not really that confident in the car and not feeling very precise and predictable in the car.
"I've got to keep working to get back to the place I was in last year and the year before, where it was more predictable and more comfortable," he admits. "Now it's just a little bit difficult for me, I've got to keep working with my engineers to try and sort that out."