Canada’s lone Formula One driver has spent his career plagued by the claim that he hasn’t earned his spot in F1, that it’s thanks entirely to the financial backing of his billionaire dad.
But all eyes are on 2026 and the massive overhaul in F1’s technical regulations that could finally change everything for Montreal-born Lance Stroll and the U.K.-based Aston Martin team.
“There’s just massive potential for that team,” said F1TV commentator and Canadian racing driver James Hinchcliffe.
“There’s a lot of hope and if that car’s quick, yeah, Lance could be fighting for podiums and maybe get that first win.”
F1 isn’t like any other motorsport in the world. Its rulebook undergoes a massive overhaul every three to five years.
Because each team builds its own car from scratch — engineering every component from the ground up — it’s as much a race for technical innovation as a race on the track. Teams spend years building the fastest, most advanced cars on the planet — pushing the regulations to their limit and exploiting loopholes — until the rules are rewritten.
The 2026 regulations overhaul has a few key changes: the cars will be smaller and lighter and thus, in theory, better able to overtake on track. The cars are narrower and the minimum weight has been reduced by 30 kilograms; new power units run on sustainable fuels and with an even split between internal combustion engine and electric power; and a new aerodynamic system features movable front and rear wings.
“When it’s this big of a shakeup … everyone’s saying it’s the biggest change they’ve had in the history of the sport. It’s a fresh sheet of paper,” Hinchcliffe said.
“It’s everything. Every single team … every single driver thinks, ‘Hey 2026 is going to be our year.’”
Lance Stroll’s father, Lawrence Stroll, is a Canadian billionaire and part owner of Aston Martin, as well as the owner of the Aston Martin F1 team. And he’s made his mission clear: to see the team win the drivers’ or constructors’ championship.
In pursuit of that dream, he invested in a new facility at the team’s U.K. headquarters estimated at $388 million Cdn. It houses a new driver simulator (a life-sized training machine that replicates driving an F1 car) and state-of-the-art wind tunnel (a giant machine that blasts air at a scale model of the car to test the aerodynamic design).
The team also has an exclusive partnership with Honda to develop and supply its power units for 2026, giving Aston Martin more control than if Honda were supplying multiple teams. Honda supplied the power unit for Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s four consecutive World Driver’s Championships (from 2021 to 2024).
“There’s a lot of hope that all of those aspects coming together can produce something great for [2026], alongside the rule change that gives them this opportunity,” said Bernie Collins, Sky Sports F1 analyst and former head of race strategy for Aston Martin.
The team has another massive advantage: it managed to lure Adrian Newey, widely regarded as the greatest designer in F1. Cars he designed or had a hand in have won 12 Constructors’ Championships and 14 Drivers’ Championships.
“That’s the other piece of the secret sauce. It’s undeniable what he’s done,” Hinchcliffe said.
“He’s got a one-track mind and that is: build the fastest race car possible. And if you look at his stats, at least half the time he does that.”
Stroll is the 15th Canadian F1 driver and one of only four to score points. Jacques Villeneuve is the only Canadian driver to have ever won a World Drivers’ Championship — and Newey oversaw the development of the car he won in.
The 2026 season is a big opportunity for Canadian fans, especially in what’s traditionally been a European-dominated sport.
But that’s changing. F1 is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, thanks in large part to the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive. Its audience grew 12 per cent in 2024, and the Canadian fan base reported a 31.5 per cent jump that same year.
But being the sole Canadian driver could bring its own set of challenges.
“You can imagine if the car came out and was really good next year, by the time they get to Canada [the Montreal Grand Prix] the hype would be phenomenal,” Collins said.
“So I think [Stroll] will feel that pressure.… It definitely does carry a greater weight of expectation.”
18-year-old Canadian racing prodigy Lance Stroll joins Formula One.
Hinchcliffe, a six-time IndyCar winner who competed from 2011 to 2021, knows that pressure first-hand.
“It is a little extra element that you think about when you go to bed at night,” he said.
“You want to give Canadians something to cheer for, and it is something that weighs on you for sure. And I’m sure Lance feels the same way, especially having a home Grand Prix.”
But Stroll has his share of critics, those who point to his inconsistent performance as proof that he doesn’t deserve one of the most coveted seats in motorsport and wouldn’t be there without his dad’s backing.
A running joke in the fandom is that the grid is made up of 19 of the world’s best drivers — and Lance Stroll.
He’s a meme in F1 circles, every mistake a punchline.
But Hinchcliffe insists Stroll shouldn’t be counted out.
“Anybody that tries to argue that Lance isn’t talented or doesn’t have the talent to be in Formula One, they’re wrong about that,” he said.
“The kid’s an incredibly quick driver, he proved that throughout the ranks moving up. You don’t get podiums in Formula One being a below average racing driver.”
In 2016, Stroll was the Formula Three champion at the age of 17. He won 14 races and stood atop 20 podiums that season. But he’s never found that same level of form since entering F1.
Collins, who worked at Aston Martin from 2020 to 2022, said the criticism aimed at Stroll is too harsh.
“Is he the best driver on the grid? Then probably not,” she said.
“The analogy I use sometimes is you can look at the 400-metre sprint and the person who’s come in second last.… If you put someone normal running next to them, that would still look really, really impressive.”
Cadence Wille is a B.C.-based F1 influencer who produces content under the handle @cadencebraking on Instagram and TikTok.
Wille, who’s been watching F1 since 2020, doesn’t think Stroll is quite as bad as his reputation might suggest.
“In tricky conditions, he seems to be able to pull out some pretty impressive results in conditions especially that other drivers might really struggle in,” she said.
Stroll’s first and only qualifying pole position took place during wet-weather conditions at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, although he ultimately finished ninth.
Stroll, now 27, finished 16th out of 21 drivers in 2025, with 33 points and zero podiums. That’s 23 points behind his veteran teammate Fernando Alonso and 390 points behind the current World Driver’s Champion, Lando Norris.
Despite a tough year, Collins said Stroll has the work ethic to take his performance to the next level with the right car.
“I think there is hope that Lance, with the car improving, can improve form and improve ability,” she said.
“Lance is still very young, and [this] year is going to be all about adapting and learning. So potentially the younger drivers have a slight upper hand there. And I think he will adapt pretty quickly.”
Wille thinks a championship in 2026 is farfetched but agrees the car is the great unknown.
“Sometimes we see drivers get the opportunity to control a race from the front and they just fly. They make it work,” she said. “We haven’t seen Stroll in that position so we don’t know.”
And that, Hinchcliffe said, is what makes F1 so compelling.
“It’s going to be a super exciting season … there’s so many unknowns going into it,” he said.
“2026 offers a lot of hope for [Aston Martin], for Lance, for Canadian fans. So watch this space. We’ll see how it goes.”
Fans will get their first look at Aston Martin’s new car on Feb. 9 and it will hit the track for the first time during pre-season testing a few days later. The season officially kicks off in Australia on March 6.
