Aston Martin chief Mike Krack believes "people underestimate how good" Lance Stroll is as he backed the Canadian to hold his own against Fernando Alonso next season.
The oldest current racer in Formula 1 will join the Silverstone outfit from next season. Despite being 41 years old, the Spaniard's desire to compete remains as strong as ever – evidenced by his decision to quit Alpine for a multi-year deal with Aston Martin.
That move will provide Stroll with another stern test when it comes to holding his own against his team-mate. After two years with four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, the German's replacement is another multi-title-winning driver with bags of experience.
But Stroll is no rookie himself. Next season will be his seventh in F1, and his fifth with the team owned by his ambitious billionaire father Lawrence, who will be keen to finally see the team live up to the potential he feels it has.
Team principal Krack believes Stroll has a large role to play in that goal, and believes he is more than worthy of the seat he holds. "People underestimate how good Lance is – they think he's only here because his father owns the team and put him in the car," she told the official Formula 1 website.
"But you don't do as well as he has against a four-time world champion by accident, and you don't win as many junior single-seater championships as he has by accident either. It's important to remember that Lance has never really had a winning car in F1, a car in which he can show what he's capable of – to really deliver on his talent."
And be is confident that Stroll, still yet to turn 24, will be more than capable of matching Alonso when the Spaniard joins up with the team next year. "When Sebastian joined the team, people were saying Lance had no chance, but Lance has performed incredibly well against a four-time world champion – they've been closely matched," Krack added.
"People are saying the same thing now that Fernando is joining the team, but let's wait and see. Lance might just surprise a few people. I don't know if Fernando underestimates Lance. He's certainly not scared of going up against him in the same car – or any other driver for that matter – but there's a respect between them.
"They've known each other for many years, they've raced against each other, and Fernando knows the qualities Lance has. There's real respect there."
