Formula 1 drivers are known at times for being a little difficult to work with owing to their larger-than-life personalities.
Most, however, tend to build healthy relationships with their engineers who are a pivotal component of their development and success in the sport.
There are some, though, who just simply cn’t get along with each other and it leads to a fractious relationship off the track.
Former Bridgestone engineer Ernest Knoors has said that Lance Stroll is the ‘most difficult’ driver to work with, and although his teammate Fernando Alonso also does at times end up being ‘difficult’, Lance really doesn’t help himself with his attitude.
While the season began with Lance putting on a great effort to finish P6 despite nursing two broken bones in his hand, as time wore on, he proved to be little competition to Alonso.
Alonso eventually managed to score the majority of points accrued by Aston Martin and was regularly in the podium positions during the first half of the season.
Stroll, meanwhile, struggled to get out of Q1 on Saturdays and even confessed to considering a career as a professional tennis player at one point.
While that may well be his passion and ultimate goal, it did little to help matters on the track.
Stroll’s attitude did come into question at various points in the season, as he was even seen shoving his trainer in the garage and throwing his steering wheel away in disgust after getting eliminated from qualifying in Qatar.
Knoors believes that while Alonso has his own set of problems, it is tough to look beyond Stroll when it comes to the most difficult drivers to work with.
“Ultimately, those boys are all motivated to win, to work hard,” Knoors said.
“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.”
The differentiator between Alonso and Stroll stems in the fact that the Spaniard is still motivated to perform and get the best for the team, while this is not necessarily the case with the Canadian.
“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.
“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.”