Ninth place a big win as rookie scores first points at home
Lance Stroll didn’t win the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, but the celebration in the Williams garage and paddock area afterward certainly looked and sounded like he did.
The Montreal driver finished in ninth place, which was good enough to earn the 18-year-old Formula One rookie his first two points in the drivers’ standings. As his Williams car crossed the finish line, Stroll said to his crew over the team radio: “At last ... some points. It’s taken a while. Thanks, guys!”
A lot of hooting and hollering could be heard from inside the garage shortly afterward before Stroll emerged.
“Brilliant!” one member of the Williams team shouted.
“You’re a fine, young driver,” said another.
Before the driver appeared from the garage, out came Hollywood actor Michael Douglas, who is a longtime friend of the racer’s billionaire father, Lawrence Stroll. Douglas was beaming, but not as much as the father when he came out shortly afterward.
“There’s not much to say,” Lawrence Stroll said. “I think you saw the same race I saw. He drove a great race, great pace, and I couldn’t be happier. It couldn’t be more appropriate that he scored his first points on his home soil.”
Lewis Hamilton won the race for the third-straight year, followed by Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. In the drivers’ standings, Hamilton moved within 12 points of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who leads the way with 141 points and finished fourth Sunday.
It was an impressive performance by Stroll, who had only finished two of his first six F1 races before the Canadian Grand Prix, with his best result an 11thplace finish in Russia. On Sunday, the teenager started from the No. 17 position out of 20 cars following a disappointing qualifying session Saturday.
Only the top 10 finishers earn points and Stroll worked his way up to 10th position on Lap 15, getting a big cheer from the hometown crowd as he sped through the Senna Corner. He moved up to ninth on Lap 16 and was briefly in eighth place on Lap 17.
Stroll had fallen back into 10th position when he pitted on Lap 27 and was 17th when he got back on the track. Again, the teenager started working his way up. With 20 laps remaining in the 70-lap race, Stroll was back in 10th place and on Lap 55 he moved into ninth, where he stayed until the checkered flag.
“I knew we had to pace to do it … to come back,” Stroll said outside the Williams garage after being hugged by his father. “It’s just staying clean, knowing when to overtake. I could have done it a lap earlier sometimes, but it was just a bit risky. So I wanted to do it safely and I knew that we were in it to the end. So we just made it happen, which was good.”
Stroll’s performance should help silence some of the critics who have suggested the teenager has a ride in F1 more because of his father’s wealth than his own driving ability. Lawrence Stroll, who made his fortune in the fashion industry, has a net worth around $2.6 billion, according to Forbes Magazine.
“It’s just special to see everyone … friends, family,” Stroll said about the crowd waiting to greet him after the race. “We’re all in it together . ... Bad days, good days. When everyone’s there and everyone’s happy, it feels good, especially at home. I can’t think of a better place to do it than here.”
When asked if the ninth-place finish might be a turning point for his son and give him a confidence boost, Lawrence Stroll said: “I think he was already very confident. I think he had a lot of bad luck, which you guys saw the same races I saw. He’s 18 years old. Everyone has to have a little bit of patience. This is his sixth or seventh race. I think he’s right where he should be.”
How did the teenage driver plan to celebrate his performance?
“Party tonight,” he said with a big smile.
The party had already started.