Being Max Verstappen’s team-mate, it has been said, is Formula 1’s poisonous gift.
But is there an even less favorable colleague to have on the other side of the garage in Lance Stroll?
The evidence suggests so.
Verstappen, of course, saw Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo out of the whole Red Bull group, while Pierre Gasly only lasted half a season by his side and Alex Albon was sacked from his seat of race at the end of 2020.
Sergio Perez is doing better so far, although the Mexican’s recent results are a bit worrying.
However, at least all of those five drivers are still on the grid. At the end of 2022, only one of Stroll’s four teammates since his debut in 2017 – the enduring Perez – will remain active in Formula 1.
Here’s what happened to the Canadiens’ teammates.
Felipe Massa – retired
Stroll arrived in F1 in 2017 after winning the FIA Formula 3 European Championship the previous year, having found an opportunity with the Williams team.
He was paired with a man on the opposite end of the experience spectrum at Massa, whose F1 career began in 2002 – when Stroll was just three years old!
In fairness, Massa thought he was retired at the end of 2016 but was brought back by Williams when Valtteri Bottas moved to Mercedes following Nico Rosberg’s sudden departure from the sport as world champion.
The Brazilian edged Stroll by 43 points to 40 – although the rookie achieved the team’s only podium finish of the season in Baku – before saying his final goodbyes.
Sergei Sirotkin – abandoned
Stroll stayed at williams as Massa was replaced for 2018 by Sirotkin, a former Sauber and Renault test driver who had twice finished third in the GP2 series.
The Muscovite’s F1 driving career lasted just one season and he picked up just one point, at the Italian Grand Prix.
It was a year when Williams’ fortunes took a nosedive, but Stroll was still their strongest driver, scoring six of their seven points – before he too moved on…
Sergio Perez – dropped
Stroll’s next destination was Racing Point after the team was purchased by his father, Lawrence.
Perez eventually moved on to bigger and better things, but not before teammate Stroll’s ‘curse’ struck again – as the Mexican was told in September 2020 that he would not be kept for the year next.
The 2020 season was comfortably Stroll’s best with two podiums, a pole position and a career-best 11th in the drivers’ standings – while Perez won the Sakhir Grand Prix, in which the Montreal-born rider finished third. , to ensure he landed on his feet when he joined Red Bull.
Sebastian Vettel – retires
Perez’s exit had been eased to make way for Vettel, who was leaving Ferrari.
With Racing Point transforming into Aston Martin for 2021, the German was to be the man to start lifting the team towards their great ambition of winning the world championship.
However, that goal still seems a long way off with Aston Martin currently ninth out of 10 in the constructors’ standings.
No longer a driver of race wins and with a young family at home, Vettel has decided to end his career at the end of 2022 – leaving Stroll to wait for his fifth team-mate in seven seasons, confirmed as Fernando Alonso.
With the Spaniard already 41, it’s only bound to be a matter of time before he heads out like Massa, Sirotkin and Vettel.
The question is how successful he will be before that happens – check out our take on what the future holds for Alonso alongside the “reaper” that is Stroll.
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