Ralf Schumacher makes Lance Stroll concession as Aston Martin row continues

Ralf Schumacher has said he stands by his beliefs regarding Lance Stroll, but has revised the date of when it may be of importance to Aston Martin.

Aston Martin is understood to be refusing access to its personnel to Ralf Schumacher and his Sky Germany colleagues, following a period of time in which the team believes the broadcaster has been unbalanced in its coverage.

Ralf Schumacher: I stand by my opinion

Schumacher is known for being unafraid to voice opinions on F1 personnel and teams, and recently suggested that Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll should look towards replacing his son, Lance, if there’s any chance of success for the Silverstone-based squad.

Stroll has invested serious time and money in overhauling the infrastructure and facilities at the Silverstone factory, which has been home to a team stretching back to 1991, when it began racing as the Jordan Grand Prix outfit.

In recent months, alongside new CEO and team boss Andy Cowell, Adrian Newey has started work as managing technical partner, while new chief technical officer Enrico Cardile has also started work after a period of gardening leave from Ferrari.

The push is on for the new regulation cycle coming into play for F1 2026, with high hopes that Newey’s first creation for the team will prove competitive and elevate the team into the upper echelons of the grid.

But all that effort will count for naught, Schumacher believes, if Stroll Jr. continues to occupy a seat alongside two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, with the former F1 Grand Prix winner arguing that the Canadian driver must be cast aside by his father.

“If Lawrence seriously wants to become a Formula 1 world champion, he has to fire his son. Lance’s 27-0 defeat in qualifying against his teammate Fernando Alonso says it all,” Schumacher recently told Sport Bild.

“The father has to decide: emotion or success. If he’s serious, he’ll have to completely rethink the driver pairing for 2026. I think he knows that, but the decision is difficult for him.”

Taking to Instagram over the weekend, Schumacher addressed some of his comments and appeared to somewhat back down in that he believes a decision is required further down the line, and not immediately.

Conceding some ground on Stroll as a driver, he suggested that the pairing is a good one to start off the new regulation cycle.

“I overlooked what I said when I said that the Aston Martin team needs to come up with something different in the long term if they want to become world champions,” he said.

“That’s true, and I stand by it.

“The only thing is, unfortunately, the date is a bit wrong, so it’s not for 2026, but after ’26.

“I do believe that [Alonso and Stroll] is a solid combination, and it’s also a good combination for the first year [of the new regulations].

“Lance Stoll is certainly not a bad driver, but I mean, if I look at the qualifying balance, that is clear, and not only that.

“That’s why I believe that, after ’26, the cards will be reshuffled, with Adrian Newey in the team, and I think they then will have a really realistic chance.

“And then, I think, [Lawrence] will have to draw a conclusion at some point, perhaps [Lance] develops much better against his new team colleague than expected.

“But I think the numbers and the qualifying record are clear.

“So from 2027, not ’26.”

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Schumacher’s referring to the qualifying record between Alonso and Stroll is accurate in that the Spaniard has very much enjoyed the upper hand on Saturdays, but Stroll’s Sunday performances have been much improved relative to his World Champion teammate this year.

Alonso and Stroll occupy 11th and 12th places, respectively, in the Drivers’ Championship, with both having scored 26 points so far this year – Alonso being ahead comes down to having secured a best result of fifth, in the most recent race at the Hungaroring.

Other comments thought to have been viewed as unbalanced by Aston Martin include Schumacher also criticising Stroll for his words over team radio after the British Grand Prix, in which he called his AMR25 “the worst piece of sh*t I’ve ever driven in my life” after finishing seventh.

It led Schumacher to say, “I would hope that at the next race he goes and apologises. It’s just a shame, unspeakable, and it indicates a poor upbringing. I don’t know what movie he thinks he is in, but such statements diminish his own results.”

This led to Aston Martin taking the decision to limit Sky Germany’s access to its personnel and drivers.

As previously reported, PlanetF1.com understands the German broadcaster was denied requests for exclusive interviews over the Hungarian Grand Prix as Aston Martin reacted to comments about Stroll made by Schumacher.

PlanetF1.com understands that stretches back to the start of the European season with the move to deny interview requests at the Hungaroring the culmination of several weekends of similar concerns.

The move is not a blanket ban or a boycott per se, as some teams have previously employed, and drivers and staff are still free to engage with the broadcaster in the post-session interviews if they wish. Sky Germany is also welcome to participate in open media sessions at other points during the weekend.

However, Aston Martin has drawn the line at one-on-one style interviews, as was seen when Schumacher and host Peter Hardenacke attempted to speak with Lawrence Stroll live during the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The rejection was not lost upon Schumacher, who admitted, “I know they are not giving us any more interviews because they do not like us that much at the moment.”

It’s understood Sky Germany itself has conceded that some of its commentary of late has been too harsh – especially pundits Schumacher and Glock.

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