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It is quite a departure for one of the sport's
leading constructors, once-dominant former champions whose cars
have been graced by a roll call of greats but now without a race
win since 2012.
With just 20 grands prix under his belt, Stroll now has
22-year-old Russian rookie Sergey Sirotkin as team mate in place
of departed Brazilian veteran Felipe Massa.
There are those who see a slide down the standings as the
campaign proceeds, with the Mercedes-powered car not looking
particularly quick in testing either, but Stroll is
understandably not one of them.
"Williams made a decision to take us on board and that’s how it
is. I don’t think it’s a bad thing," the driver, son of a
billionaire, told Reuters during testing in Spain ahead of next
week's season-opener in Australia.
"I think, just like everyone else, if we do a good job as a team
we can get some good results."
The teenager did his best to win over the doubters in 2017 with
a front row start, the only podium by a driver outside the top
three teams and a place in the record books.
But he recognizes some may never be convinced that he is more
than a rich kid whose father's money has given him every
advantage.
"There will always be jealous people and haters, people who
assume that if they were in your shoes they could do what you’re
doing," he said. "That’s just the world we live in.
"All I can do is my talking on the track, and I believe that
when they look at the facts people can judge for themselves if
its good or bad. I believe that so far it’s been a great
journey."
CLARITY
Stroll, who finished third in Azerbaijan last June to become the
youngest rookie to stand on an F1 podium and started on the
front row in Italy for the fastest race of them all, assessed
his strengths and weaknesses over the winter.
On the plus side, he ended 2017 with 40 points, just three fewer
than Massa.
He had seven points finishes, his first coming on home soil in
Canada, and ended up 12th in the championship with Williams
fifth overall.
On the down side, he made some rookie errors and drew a blank in
his first six races.
Statistics compiled by tire supplier Pirelli showed that Stroll
also gained 36 places in the season's opening laps, more than
any driver -- suggesting he had the car to qualify higher than
he did.
"It’s too easy to look back and say ‘I could have, should have,
would have done that assuming everything worked out’," said the
Montreal-born driver.
"But definitely I just have better clarity on things, having a
year under my belt, than I did last year seeing every race as it
came for the first time.
"I think clarity is the right word, there’s nothing really more
to it.
"I had speed at times last year, and it was good, but generally
I can expect what’s coming now compared to where I was this time
last year."
The Canadian, who was named as a Williams driver before he had
passed his regular driving test, has faced regular questions
about his father's financial support. The subject still triggers
an animated response.
"I won F4 and I won F3, F3 by I believe the biggest margin in
history and as one of the youngest drivers in history. I’m just
pointing out facts, I’m not bragging or anything," he
emphasized.
"So I believe that already answers the question about the money,
when I arrived in Formula One whether I deserved my spot or not.
But people didn’t really want to see that."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)
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