“Lance Stroll is the greatest pay driver of all time” - Aston Martin F1 driver receives unwanted tag from ex-F1 boss

Peter Windsor recently labelled Lance Stroll a pay driver in Formula 1. And although he called Stroll one of the 'greatest' pay drivers, many believe it is a title the Canadian would not like to have.

Windsor, while speaking on a YouTube stream, said that Stroll, according to him, is one of the greatest pay drivers ever.

"You could argue that Lance Stroll is the greatest pay driver of all time because, yes, he’s there because his dad is paying all the bills, but at least his dad has gone out and created a new team out of an old one, Aston Martin."

A 'pay driver' is the label given to a driver who has been hired by a team because someone from their family is assisting the team financially, usually with sponsorships.

One could argue that Nikita Mazepin, who was with Haas, was one such driver since his father owned UralKali, Haas' title sponsor for the 2021 season.

Lance Stroll debuted with Williams in the 2017 season, and since has been given this title quite a few times. He currently races for Aston Martin, rebranded from Racing Point, both of which were and are owned by his millionaire father, Lawrence Stroll.

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Windsor thinks Lance Stroll has a 'reasonable' amount of talent for Formula 1

Lance Stroll in action

Lance Stroll has been on the Formula 1 grid for quite some time and has made up his name in the midfield. But for most of his F1 career, he has raced for teams that have been under the ownership of his father.

This is the case in the present scenario as well.

Even though referred to as a 'pay driver', Stroll has produced some decent performances in his career. His best finish has been P3, which he has achieved thrice, and has also been in the pole position once (2020 Turkish GP).

Although Aston Martin has improved quite a bit this season, Stroll has been devoid of a podium finish, unlike his teammate, Fernando Alonso. But he continues to push.

Analysing these facts, Windsor came to the conclusion that the 'greatness' about having a pay driver like Stroll is that he has 'reasonable' talent as well.

"The payment for Lance to be in Formula 1 has been a very constructive thing and it’s given a lot of jobs to a lot of people and it’s a whole new thing, so in that sense you’ve got to say: ‘Wow, that’s the perfect use of being a pay driver' – and he’s got a reasonable amount of talent as well."