Former F1 engineer reveals MOST DIFFICULT driver to work with

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Former F1 engineer reveals MOST DIFFICULT driver to work with

The former engineer has spilled the beans on Alonso and Stroll

Tyler Rowlinson

Friday 15 December 2023 09:57

Former Bridgestone engineer Ernest Knoors has said that Lance Stroll would be the ‘most difficult’ driver to work with, despite his team-mate Fernando Alonso also having a penchant for being 'quite difficult'.

At the opening round of the 2023 season in Bahrain, Stroll brought his AMR23 home to finish sixth after nursing two broken bones in his hand, with Alonso labelling the Canadian ‘my hero’.

But as the season progressed, the Spaniard’s experience and speed shone through as he scored the majority of Aston Martin’s points and competed for podiums, while Stroll regularly struggled to get out of Q1 on Saturdays.

Fernando Alonso finished fourth in the standings with eight podiums

Lance Stroll was outclassed by his team-mate in 2023

Knoors: 'Stroll more difficult to work with than Alonso'

Stroll's frustrations would boil over in Qatar as he was once again eliminated in the first part of qualifying, which resulted in him shoving his trainer in the garage and throwing his steering wheel.

Speculation began to rise about whether Stroll wanted to be in F1 anymore, with one claim even reporting that he wanted to retire and take up tennis, but the 25-year-old has been confirmed for the 2024 season where he will again partner Alonso at Aston Martin.

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While the two-time champion has a reputation for being difficult, former engineer Knoors reckons that it would be Stroll who would be the most problematic to work with out of the two drivers.

“Ultimately, those boys are all motivated to win, to work hard,” Knoors told RacingNews365.

Many people have speculated that Stroll wanted to quit the sport

“When you work with Fernando Alonso, it’s a pleasure. When you have him in a team, he can also be quite difficult, because he always pushes for the best solutions for him, while as a team you might want to look for solutions that are best for the entire team.”

But he later added that while there can be challenges with Alonso, he is motivated to perform and get the best for the team, which is why he believes it may be a harder task with his team-mate.

“In general people who are motivated and push themselves to get the best out of it are always good to work with,” he said.

“The most difficult driver may be a kind of Lance Stroll,” he added. “Those are a lot more difficult characters to assess, but the guys who work directly with him will also have a good relationship with him.”

Fernando Alonso Lance Stroll