Montoya defends "very underrated" Stroll: ‘Alonso will make him better’

Stroll endured a Monaco Grand Prix to forget as he recorded his second point-less finish in a row after following up his Q2 elimination with a crash-strewn race that ultimately ended in retirement. 

The Canadian has managed just 27 of Aston Martin’s 120 points across the opening six races of the season, while Alonso has registered 93, including five podiums. 

But Montoya leapt to Stroll’s defence after his calamitous weekend. 

“Lance has come a long way and I think Fernando is going to make him a much better driver,” Montoya told the Sky Sports F1 Podcast. 

“I’m okay with what he did. With a car as fast as he had, you can either sit in line and do nothing, or try. 

“If you sit in line and do nothing, you might be lucky to get a point or two. If you go for it and it works, you look really good. And if you don’t, you missed a point or two.” 

Asked if Aston Martin’s billionaire owner Lawrence should be encouraging his son to take more risks, Montoya replied: “Honestly if they are not, they need to. 

“Lance has an opportunity. Lance is a lot better than people think he is and I think he’s very underrated. 

“He’s a really nice guy and he’s really quiet. But I think he needs somebody on his corner to kick his ass and go ‘really buddy, you lost two-tenths here because what?’

“He needs to come out of his comfort zone and in a way that’s going to be a couple of shunts and what he did in Monaco trying.

“I’d rather see him try than just sit there, because the next time he does it the guy knows he’s coming. 

“When you are passing somebody and they know you are coming, they’ll give you the room because they know you are okay with hitting them.”

Sky Sports F1’s commentator David Croft also backed Stroll, insisting he is deserving of his place on the grid. 

“I think Lance is more than good enough to hold his own in F1,” Croft said. 

“Otherwise he’d have never have got a pole, he’d have never got podiums, he’d have never been the youngest guy to start on the front row and he’d have never won championships coming up into F1."