Odd helicopter accusation against Lance Stroll | Mother pressurising him to quit

The strange story is told by Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 F1 champion who was a long-time neighbour of the Stroll family in Montreal.

"Lawrence built his son his own go-kart track, which was just a 15-minute walk from the house,” Villeneuve claimed to F1-Insider.

“Nevertheless, Lance covered the distance by helicopter every day."

A separate source, discussing the younger Stroll’s attitude to racing, was quoted: "Father and son once came to our factory to have a look: I have never seen such an interested father and such a disinterested son."

The Aston Martin driver’s woes resurfaced at this weekend’s F1 Qatar Grand Prix when he shoved a team member inside his garage after a fourth consecutive Q1 elimination on Friday.

His mother, the report claims, “is putting pressure on her son to end his motorsport career this year after a number of accidents”.

It is also reported that Aston Martin “no longer rule out a retirement” for their youngest driver.

The same source previously reported that his father, the Aston Martin executive chairman Lawrence Stroll, had been approached by a Saudi Arabian fund about purchasing the F1 team for a fee in excess of $800m.