What if Aston Martin's sole purpose of existence cannot be fulfilled?

Aston Martin has made a massive leap in terms of performance this season. The car that finished the 2022 F1 Championship 7th in the standings is now a regular podium contender. Out of the first 8 races of the season, the team has not been on the podium in only one of them.

Not only that, Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso is within touching distance of Sergio Perez who is P2 in the championship right now. In all of this, though, there's one missing thing.

The reason why the team was created in the first place, the reason why Lawrence Stroll spent millions of dollars to create world-class facilities, was for his son Lance Stroll to reap the benefits.

After the first 8 races of the season, Stroll has no podium to his name, while his Aston Martin teammate has 6 of them. In terms of points, it's an even more embarrassing story, and the less we talk about the head-to-head battle between Alonso and Stroll, the better.

After the first 8 races of the season, Aston Martin has shown that it is a front-running car, but Stroll has not shown that he's a front-running driver.

What led to Aston Martin's inception?

It is at this point that it becomes important for us to take a step back and understand why we find ourselves in this particular situation. Why Lawrence Stroll had to buy a team for his son and then pump millions of dollars into the project? The answer to this question lies in the years leading up to Lance's F1 debut.

It could be termed an understatement of sorts to say that Lawrence Stroll is willing to do anything for his son, Lance. A multi-billionaire in his own right, Lawrence has taken a keen interest in his son's career and guided it in a way that success became almost a formality.

This was on evidence in the F4 and F3 series, where Lance drove for Prema, the premier team of the series, and even dominated to win the F3 title.

Lance was always a good driver. But with Lawrence providing a helping hand by buying the shares of Prema (in F3), having an extensive testing program that no other driver could afford, using fellow drivers as coaches, and even having team orders in place, meant success was a mere formality.

When Lance made his debut in F1 as a reigning F3 champion, his debut season had flashes of a talented driver. He secured a podium in his very first season and still holds the record for being one of the youngest to do it.

After a couple of seasons, though, it became clear that Williams was not going to be the team that rises through the ranks. Lance also had not painted himself in glory during his time with the team. He was a decent talent, but nothing more than that.

It was at this moment that father Lawrence Stroll decided to implement the same strategy that he had used in Lance's junior career. Force India, a team struggling for finances, was bought and with that, Lance got a team of his own.

Lawrence now got to work on how he could give his son the best possible car with which he could reciprocate the success of his junior career.

What is the sole purpose of Aston Martin's existence?

The sole purpose of Aston Martin's existence is to make Lance Stroll a world champion! Yes, you heard it right! The only reason why Lawrence Stroll has spent billions of dollars on the team is to help his son have the best possible opportunity to win the F1 title.

This was accomplished in F4 and F3 by the Stroll family, and the next target is to accomplish it in F1.

As a team, Aston Martin continues to grow. It's hard to deny that the kind of progress that the team has made is very impressive indeed. The car is already the second fastest on the grid behind Red Bull, and it won't be a surprise if it takes another step next season.

Can Lance Stroll win the title with Aston Martin?

Now, this is where things get interesting. What if Aston Martin is a championship-contending car next season? What if the car is able to take on the challenge from Red Bull? Could Lance Stroll be the driver that challenges Max Verstappen for the title in 2024? Bluntly put, the answer to that question is no!

One can bet on Aston Martin being comparable to Red Bull in terms of performance, but it would take a very brave man to bet on Lance Stroll.

The reason behind it can be seen in his performance this season or even at any other point in his career. The Canadian driver has talent. There's no denying that part. The only issue is the lack of application and effort that could make him an undeniable force.

There will be days like the one in Monza in 2017 when Lance Stroll will place a Williams on the front row in the wet weather. There will even be days like the one in Turkey in 2020 when he will place the Racing Point in the pole position. But, in between these moments of brilliance will be one below-par performance after another.

The 2023 F1 season is a case study of that only as Lance Stroll finds himself 8th in the championship in the 2nd fastest car on the grid with zero podiums to his name.

The only possibility of Lance Stroll becoming a world champion is if Aston Martin produces a car comparable to the one Mercedes had at the peak of its dominance. He also would need to have a pliable teammate that won't challenge him.

Unless that happens, it's not realistic to expect Lance Stroll to become a world champion, and in all fairness, even that specialized circumstance is hard to achieve in F1.

If Lance can't, what is the future of the team?

Now, this is where we address the elephant in the room. Let's get one thing straight - The sole reason for Aston Martin's existence in F1 is to make Lance Stroll a world champion.

It's not to make 'Aston Martin' a big brand in the sport or build a sporting legacy. Nor is it to make Fernando Alonso a world champion. The sole reason for the team's existence is to bring Lance Stroll a world title.

What if Lawrence Stroll realizes in a year or two that Lance cannot achieve the dream of being an F1 world champion? What if Aston Martin produces a car capable of winning the world title, but Lance fails spectacularly?

In the short but interesting history of Aston Martin, this is the most interesting bit. If the team owner realizes that the sole purpose of the inception of the team cannot be fulfilled, what does he do next? What will be the next step for Lawrence Stroll? Could he sell off the team? Could he let Lance's teammate take the reign and challenge for the title? Or could Lance move to a managerial role?

There are a lot of possibilities in play here, and to be fair, we truly don't know what will happen. One thing that would certainly not happen is Lawrence Stroll firing his son Lance because 'he's not performing'. Lance Stroll is an Aston Martin driver, and he will continue to be so until he wants to be.