Lance Stroll speaks out over ‘fake news’ after wild F1 retirement rumours

Lance Stroll has poured further cold water on assertions that he wished to walk away from F1 two years ago, labelling them as “fake news”.

The rumour mill has seen some claims made by Brazilian sources that the Canadian driver came close to retiring from F1 after 2023.

Felipe Drugovich lends weight to Brazilian claims

Across the Dutch Grand Prix weekend at Zandvoort earlier this year, it was suggested live on air by a Brazilian commentator that Stroll had asked to quit Aston Martin and F1, twice.

It was said that, on both occasions, Stroll’s father, team owner Lawrence Stroll, had denied that request.

At the time, PlanetF1.com asked the Canadian driver if there was any truth to the rumour, to which he brushed it off.

“I had no plans on doing that,” he insisted. “Not sure where that came from.”

When explained to him that a Brazilian commentator had claimed it during a live session broadcast, he replied, “I guess he needed something to say! I had no plans on it.”

Aston Martin’s reserve driver is Brazilian driver Felipe Drugovich, who is leaving the team after this season to switch to race in Formula E with Andretti.

According to Drugovich, Stroll had been eyeing up a potential retirement from F1 after 2023, a season in which he had been roundly beaten by Fernando Alonso as the Spaniard racked up multiple podiums en route to fourth-place overall.

Stroll had bounced back from a pre-season accident in which he suffered a wrist injury requiring surgery, but struggled to match the results achieved by Alonso as his best result was a fourth-place in Australia.

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According to Drugovich, who was speaking on the Na Ponta dos Dedos podcast, he had signed to remain with Aston Martin off the back of a belief that Stroll was about to leave the sport behind.

“I renewed with them for 2024 and 2025, with a certain, not only hope, but there were, yes, talks, of me taking over in 2024, even with the team boss,” Drugovich explained.

“And there came a time when other drivers were, perhaps, not wanting to continue. Anyway, it was really a time, like, that didn’t work out for me to enter 2023, and at the end of 2023, it was very clear that maybe it would work out to enter 2024.

“And that’s when people seemed to start shaking things up, they were going to have an opportunity, and they put the contract in front of me to renew for 2024 and 2025.

“And I said, ‘I’m in the right place, at the right time, let’s go’. And it seemed again, the right time, the right time. And I think it went much closer than everyone thought it did.

“It was really very close to Lance himself, maybe not continuing in 2024, so it really was…

“So nothing to judge against the circumstances, because I have nothing to do with it, and I also, if I were in their shoes, maybe I would do the same thing.”

“But, from my perspective, it’s really complicated, because I really thought it looked like, like, everything is opening up, everything is working out.

“They put the contract in front of me again for me to renew, because it’s going to happen and everything, and it turned out that it didn’t work and I got stuck in it, anyway.

“It is what it is, there’s not much for me to cry about right now.”

Stroll was asked about these claims during the FIA Press Conference in Sao Paulo this weekend, and was succinct in his answer as he replied, “Fake news”.

On a rolling contract with Aston Martin, with whom he will remain in F1 2026, Stroll’s F1 salary was hinted at in recent documents lodged with the UK’s Companies House, due to his being a family member of a company director.

According to the documentation, Golden Eagle Racing Ltd., the company which houses Stroll’s racing business, was paid $12.3 million dollars in 2024, an increase from a figure of $5,608,000 from 2023.

Simplistically, this would suggest that Stroll’s salary essentially doubled from 2023 to ’24, but there are a number of considerations to take into account as to why this figure may not represent the true picture.

While Stroll’s contract was renegotiated for 2024, meaning the figure was revised upwards to bring him in line with other drivers of similar market value once his experience and proven ability are taken into account, it’s important to note that the figure paid out to Golden Eagle Racing Ltd. is for Stroll’s provision of services.

To that end, this means that service providers to Stroll himself are quite likely paid out of this figure, with personnel such as his management, personal trainers, physiotherapists, and consultants for areas such as fitness, wellness, and nutrition, also likely to receive their remuneration from Stroll’s company.

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