Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team driver Lance Stroll met with select members of the Canadian media to answer some questions about the 2025 season.
The interview took place a few hours ahead of the F1 75 Live event that served as the official launch of the 2025 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
Question: I want to get your thoughts on where you think the team and the car might be to start the season simply because of where it left off at the end of last season?
Lance Stroll: That’s the million dollar question. I don’t have the answer for you. I wish I knew myself. Honestly, I don’t know. That is why we all show up to Bahrain and go racing in Australia. It’s that big question mark of where we’re gonna end up, you know? I mean, all I know is that we put a lot of work into this year’s car, learned a lot of lessons from last year — even longer than that — the last 18 months. We’ve learned a lot on some of the decisions, directions that we’ve taken with development, AMR 23 into AMR 24, and we’re really trying to address some of those mistakes we made and weaknesses we had in the car going into ’25. Is it going to be good enough? It’s never good enough until you’re on the top step of the podium, but we’ve definitely put a lot of time and effort into addressing the biggest issues of last year’s car, and we’re trying to make that better for this year.
Question: There’s been a lot of changes going on in the team. A lot of new people in new places, a lot of old people in other places. Just wondering, what’s the mood like inside the team? How do you deal with all that change and how is the team dealing with all that change?
Lance Stroll: I think everyone’s very excited about the future; I think everyone should be very excited about the future. We have a new simulator that’s now operational, we have a wind tunnel that’s being commissioned that’s going to be ready to go in a few weeks time, we have an incredible new facility that everyone comes to work to every day, and a lot of talent has joined the team amongst talent that’s been there a long time. Yes, the results have been frustrating, especially the second half of last season. And we’re not where we want to be as a team, but I think the future is extremely exciting. And, I hope and think everyone sees that. You know when they come into work every day, and you see everything I said, the incredible facility we have, and all the tools we have as a team to really build a fast race car, and be a great team. I believe that’s where everyone’s head is at.
Question: It’s been a few years now that you’ve been in Formula 1 and you’re getting older like everybody does, have you changed your training program – it’s not like we all see grey hair – but I think we recall your mountain biking accident last year in Spain, so did you, for example, avoid biking this off-season in preparation for this year?
Lance Stroll: I have one or two grey hairs (laughs). I think every year I change things a bit. I’m not the same athlete I was when I was 18-years-old, so I think every winter presents an opportunity to improve some little things and places where I had issues in the season. For example, I felt it when it was really hot, so I did some sauna exercising, so there’s always a little modifications every year. But, in general, every year it’s usually the same things I’ve always done: lots of cardio, cycling – less mountain biking, that’s for sure, after my accident – three or four times a week working on my neck and shoulders, because this is an area that gets huge stress in the car. A lot of the same things but also a few small things that change.
Question: What’s your main objective moving forward, next week, in pre-season testing?
Lance Stroll: Well, I think as a team, we want to really understand the car – that’s what the test is all about. We’re so limited with running time and come Australia, and pretty much for the whole year, in terms of trying setups and stuff, only three practice sessions. Yeah, Bahrain really gives us an opportunity to turn the car upside down over the course of three days and really try a lot of different setup items and see what makes the car happy and what gets it in the window. So, that’s going to be a lot of the stuff we’re doing in Bahrain. Then, for results, it’s all really about where we pan out in the order. Of course, I want to win the race in Australia but we have to see what’s a realistic goal come, not in the Bahrain tests, but more really, in the race weekend in Australia. That’s kind of when you start to see everyone’s real car pace.
Question: Regarding the new FIA rule about the language was restriction. What’s your opinion on this subject? Because many of your colleagues are saying the FIA is going too far. What do you think about it?
Lance Stroll: I think it’s f—ing bullshit.
Question: Why?
Lance Stroll: I’ve said enough.
Question: Why and when do you think bad language became a bad habit on the radio in the garage and in the paddock. Is it because of the Netflix series? Is it because of some personalities among the teams? Is it because it’s cool now, why? And when do you think this bad language became a bad habit?
Lance Stroll: I don’t know. I don’t have the answer to that question. I honestly don’t know.
Question: And, just to be clear, this is not an official FIA session, so we’re okay, right?
Lance Stroll: Hence the rough language, yeah.
Question: You’ve talked about the future before Lance. I’m just wondering, [your teammate] Fernando [Alonso] is getting to the point where he’s going to leave at some point. Do you feel that you need to have your role in the team change a little bit because he’s going to go and you’ll be the veteran? I mean, it’s hard to think about it, but you’ve been there for a long time, right? You’re still young but…
Lance Stroll: Yeah, I mean, unless the next guy’s, I don’t know, someone older than me again. But, I don’t think that the role changes. I mean, you know, my mindset is always show up to the track and get the most out of myself and the guys that are around me, my team, my engineers, the guys that I’m working with every weekend. You know that whether it was Seb [Vettel], Fernando, Checo [Sergio Perez], that mindset approach stays the same, so I don’t think whoever is next – if Fernando ever retires, I don’t know, it doesn’t look like it, he’s still pedaling very hard. So, I mean, that’s my mindset going into every weekend. And you know, that stays the same no matter who is next to me.
Question: Knowing that the new regulations are coming into force for 2026, is the team already turning to next year or is it focusing on this one and scoring lots of points and chasing wins?
Lance Stroll: I’m sure that 2026 will offer a huge opportunity for all the teams. It’s certain that, at some point in the season, we will completely change our focus to 2026 and forget about 2025 because that’s what we need to do to be ready for 2026. On the other hand, lots of work has gone into the 2025 car and right now we are completely concentrating on the first race and developing the 2025 car.
