F1 fans want 'unbelievable' driver axed as patience wears thin with duo
With over half of the grid still without confirmed seats for the 2025 season, some big names could be left without a drive.
Lance Stroll and Daniel Ricciardo are the drivers who should be most fearful of losing their seats for the 2025 season, according to Express Sport readers. Given Aston Martin’s performance and VCARB’s links to Red Bull, many of the sport’s big names will have their eyes on those slots as 2024’s silly season ramps up.
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In a survey of 1,610 Express Sport readers, Stroll was the clear frontrunner in terms of the driver most deserving of losing his seat, picking up 51 per cent of the voter share. The 25-year-old Canadian, whose dad Lawrence owns the Aston Martin team, has endured a testing start to the 2024 campaign.
After a season opener in Bahrain that was labelled 'unbelievable' by Martin Brundle, Stroll crashed out of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with an unforced error during the early stages. A composed drive to P6 followed in Melbourne, but he retreated to the mean in Japan in round four, dropping out of qualifying in Q1 before crossing the line in P12.
The biggest incident of the season for Stroll came on Sunday in Shanghai though. Under safety car conditions, the Canadian appeared to tilt his head towards the apex of turn six, coming off the brakes and crashing into the rear of Ricciardo, who in turn was sent into the back of fellow countryman Oscar Piastri.
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This lapse in concentration earned Stroll a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points for his license, as well as the ire of VCARB driver Ricciardo, who saw his most promising weekend of the season ruined in a matter of seconds.
"What made my blood boil is I watched his onboard, to just see it from his perspective,” he explained. “And as soon as we start braking, you can see his helmet turn right and he's looking at the apex of Turn 14, he's not even watching me. And then when he looks back, he's in the back of me.”
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Unfortunately for Ricciardo, that DNF ensured that he remains pointless heading into the Miami Grand Prix, and the Aussie was the second most voted-for driver in the Express Sport survey with 36 per cent of readers believing that the 34-year-old does not deserve a second full campaign with the VCARB team.
With Liam Lawson’s contract nudging him towards a full-time race seat with VCARB in 2025 and French prospect Isack Hadjar attracting the attention of Helmut Marko, Ricciardo’s hopes of extending his F1 career are pinned on the upcoming handful of races.
