F1 rich kids: There are 'eight more Lance Strolls in the pipeline'

A former F1 star has lamented young drivers who come from rich families, citing the difficulty that his son has had in trying to reach the top of motorsport.

Junior racing categories have become an increasingly expensive venture to navigate, with a number of talented karters not having the money to continue into single-seater racing simply because of a lack of funds.

Some drivers get picked up by an F1 team's driver academy from a young age, but others are not so lucky, placing the burden on their family to fund their careers or find a plethora of sponsors willing to invest in a youngster who may or may not make it to the holy grail of F1.

Now, Jan Lammers - who raced in F1 between 1979 and 1981, before also featuring in grands prix in the 1982 and 1992 seasons - has spoken about the difficulty of trying to get his son Rene Lammers into F1.

Lammers junior is set to race in the Eurocup-3 series in 2026, but has been looking for a way into F3 or F2 to really begin his ascent up the series.

And his father has used the example of Lance Stroll to point to the fact that it is extremely difficult to make the journey into F1 without money.

Stroll's father Lawrence Stroll is a billionaire, and Stroll junior currently races for Aston Martin, the team owned by his father, despite his form in the sport having been pretty poor since the start of the 2023 season.

"Early in his career, Rene was sometimes told it was all thanks to his father, but at a certain point, it becomes despite his father," Lammers told Formule1.nl about his son's journey. "Having a lot of money these days is very relative.

"There are people, for example, for whom money is no object, who buy their way in and fly everywhere in a private jet. We have Lance Stroll in Formula 1, but there are about eight more Lance Strolls in the pipeline. So it's becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish yourself based on talent.

"Up until now, we've been able to compete normally, but that's something that's becoming exponentially more difficult. We don't have a cent left. In fact, we're panting after the horse."

Will Stroll be replaced at Aston Martin?

Both Stroll and his team-mate Fernando Alonso's contracts are due to expire at the end of the 2026 season, but Stroll is believed to be on a rolling contract.

The Canadian's form compared to the 44-year-old Alonso has been dismal over the last few seasons, being out-qualified by the Spaniard in all 24 grand prix qualifying sessions in 2025.

Stroll has also finished a long way behind Alonso in the drivers' championship in all three seasons that they have spent together as team-mates, yet he still doesn't seem to be one of the drivers most under pressure to keep their seat in the sport.

Aston Martin want to become a world championship-winning team within the next few years, and time will tell as to whether Lawrence Stroll believes he can do that with his son in one of the seats or not.

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