Williams driver Lance Stroll tried to blame his PlayStation video game for a costly blunder at Monaco. Photo/AP
Williams driver Lance Stroll tried to blame his PlayStation video game for a costly blunder at Monaco. Photo/AP
Being the rich kid on the Formula 1 grid, the popularity battle was one rising star Lance Stroll was never going to win.
Right now though he's losing it. Badly.
The rookie Williams driver is the most under pressure driver in the sport following his latest blunder - screeching intothe walls on the first day of practice around the iconic Monaco Grand Prix circuit.
Rightly or wrongly, the Canadian is being popularly portrayed as the petulant, clueless up-start.
His latest words aren't helping his case.
Stroll's Williams was running 16th in Practice 2 on Thursday (AEDT) when the back of his car slid out a fraction while turning into Casino Square, sending his car crashing into the barriers.
His excuse for his mistake was, well, interesting.
"It really p***** me off, because every time I play the PlayStation game, it's always those corners that I can't get right, and in reality it's still those two corners," he said.
"I just sent it in, kind of looking for the limit. I lost the rear and got into the dirt a little bit - typical street circuit mistake.
"If you don't touch the wall in Monaco you're not on the limit."
His cavalier, nonchalant attitude to his crash - and the long hours his team has ahead of them to put his car back together - also may not be the best look for a kid with an image problem.
"I was really happy with the day, other than the little crash at the end," he said.
"It's just one of those things. Monaco, that happens."
F1's odd couple, Lance Stroll (left) and teammate Felipe Massa. Photo/News Corp Australia
In his defence, it is his first time around the famous track.
It is his first year in the sport - and his meteoric rise from winning the Formula 3 European championship last year into the pinnacle of motorsport is notoriously difficult.
It doesn't help his cause that Red Bull star Max Verstappen has bucked the trend and made the same transition with ease.
Stroll has calmly made public calls for his "haters" to cool their jets. Saying it's his first season and he should be given time to settle before judgement day.
He forgets this is Formula 1, the so-called pinnacle of motorsport and nobody is given space.
It's cut-throat. You thrive or you're out the back door.
The Telegraph's Oliver Brown has reported the F1 grid is growing tired of Stroll already.
"Stroll is racing for Williams, a fabled F1 team that has produced seven world champion drivers, and yet he still seems to regard the privilege as akin to playing a computer game," he wrote.
All this is exacerbated by the wealth that has fuelled his career.
All through the junior categories of motorsport, Stroll has enjoyed the financial support of his father and many believe it is the only reason he was promoted by Williams to the big dance.
His dad Lawrence Stroll made a fortune by investing in clothing label Tommy Hilfiger - and the Stroll family has reportedly agreed to pay Williams for the right to drive their car this year.
Some reports claim Lawrence Stroll has spent up to $86 million (50 million pounds) in total to get his son ready to drive his Williams.
Whatever they are paying Williams may not be enough.
Stroll has not finished in three of the five grands prix this year - some his fault, some not - and he has not scored a single championship point for his team.
His best finish was 11th in Russia and his best qualifying performance was 10th.
Bad luck and mistakes have contributed to Stroll's struggles. Brake failure forced him out of the Australian GP, and errors from Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz caused his retirements in China and Bahrain.
In Barcelona two weeks ago, he completed the race but gave up a 50-second lead over teammate Felipe Massa.
While a lack of experience might be causing technical errors on the track, his youthful exuberance helps him to maintain a positive outlook.
Photo/AP
"I come from a background that when I win, people try and put me down, and when I lose, people try and put me down," Stroll said.
"I accept that, and I actually find it kind of funny. But whatever, that's out of my control. I'm focused on what I'm doing."
It's not the first time he's had to take this defensive action. It's becoming routine. It's a routine that needs to change if he is to survive at this level.
Speaking of himself in the third person is probably not a great look either.
"The haters will always hate," he said.
"I think it is a very normal reaction. People think he has money, it is easy for him to be where he is. But in this sport everyone has to have money coming from somewhere to get through the junior ranks.
"The fact I have won championships and races proves there is more to the story than money.
"There are people who are hating you more because of where you are coming from.
