Jenson Button tears into Lance Stroll antics: ‘This is a grown-up sport’

Jenson Button was far from impressed with the actions of Lance Stroll in Qatar after an altercation with his trainer in the Aston Martin garage.

Stroll comes into the United States Grand Prix as a driver under serious pressure, his form on the decline in a season where he has been outperformed by two-time World Champion team-mate Fernando Alonso.

进一步在卡塔尔Q1消除后,frustration boiled over for Stroll as he appeared to push his trainer Henry Howe with force in the Aston Martin garage after exiting his AMR23, before giving an extremely short and spikey interview to the media. The altercation with Howe resulted in a formal warning for Stroll.

Jenson Button takes issue with Lance Stroll “off-track antics”

Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack has stressed that bad luck has played a key role in Stroll’s F1 2023 struggles, his luck out once more in FP1 after he managed only five laps due to issues with the front-left brake.

But, Button finds incidents like that in Qatar very much cancel out a mitigating factor like bad luck.

“Yeah, some of it is definitely being unlucky, this is another unlucky situation he finds himself in,” Button told Sky F1 in reference to Stroll’s FP1 woes at the US Grand Prix.

“There’s three things. One, maybe the performance isn’t quite there. Two, unlucky. But for me, the big one is the off-track antics, which I have a little bit of an issue with.

“So I think as a racing driver, you get stressed in certain situations, but you need to control that, you need to have more respect within a team, the people you work with, and I think he lost that a little bit in the last race. Hopefully he realises that and he’s put it right.”

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Krack called for more respect for drivers after that Stroll incident with his trainer, claiming it is no different to in football when a player will throw a bottle or jersey in frustration.

Button though says that way of thinking does not apply when people are impacted, stressing this is a “grown-up sport”.

Asked if that is the same situation as the frustration footballers would display, Button replied: “Not when it’s a human being, no.

“And Mike Krack also said that drivers need more respect. I understand in one way, the stress that they’re under and the cameras are always on a racing driver, but I think the respect is more needed for the other people you’re working with in the team. Hopefully he’s realised that.

“I know it’s tough, there’s so much pressure on you. Sometimes you can be forgiven for the way you act, but other times it’s not right.

“This is a grown-up sport and we can’t be acting in that manner. But I’m sure he understands that and he sees it now and we can move on.”

While Alonso has made the podium seven times in F1 2023, Stroll is still without a top-three finish this season.

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