Former Haas boss Guenther Steiner believes Lance Stroll doesn’t want to be a Formula 1 driver, citing his continued presence comes down to his father’s involvement.
Stroll’s wretched period since the summer break continued in Brazil last weekend as a calamitous incident on the formation lap saw him not even make the race start.
The Canadian, who had crashed in qualifying, beached his Aston Martin when an attempt to recover from a spin at Turn 4 saw him drive straight into a wet gravel trap.
Steiner has claimed that the criticism that has been aimed towards Stroll’s drive in F1 had a role in the mistake that ensured his point-less run extended to eight races.
“He knew he did something stupid on the formation lap and then just didn’t take control anymore of what he was doing,” Steiner told the Red Flag podcast.
“I think he panicked. In situations when the world is looking at you, you’re always critiqued, you do something stupid on the formation [lap].
“What to do next? Something more stupid. It’s just like a brain fart.”
Steiner makes claim over Stroll’s F1 position
Stroll’s commitment to F1 has long been questioned as his results haven’t served to determine his place at Aston Martin due to his father, Lawrence, owning the team.
Steiner has argued there is no chance that Stroll, who has made 163 starts in F1, would be on the grid with another side as competing in the sport isn’t what he wants.
“He never seems to be happy, whatever happens,” Steiner continued.
“So would he be a World Champion if he would be happy? I don’t know about that one because some people can be good when even they’re unhappy.
“We think he’s unhappy and maybe it’s just his expression.
“I think a lot of people critique him: ‘He’s such a bad driver. He’s just there because daddy has the team.’
“But put it this way: if daddy wouldn’t have a team, I don’t think Lance would be a Formula 1 driver, because he doesn’t want to be one.”
This isn’t the first time that Steiner has discussed Stroll in recent months as he branded the Aston Martin driver’s outing in Singapore in September as “non-existent”.
READ MORE – Lance Stroll explains embarrassing Brazil GP retirement
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