Stroll starts on front row at Monza
MONZA, Italy — At 18, Canada’s Lance Stroll keeps setting Formula One records.
In June, the Williams driver became the youngest rookie to finish on the podium after placing third in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Today, he’ll become the youngest driver to start a race from the front row.
Stroll qualified fourth in torrential rain at the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday, but will move up to second on the grid following engine-change penalties to Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, who set the secondand third-fastest times behind pole sitter Lewis Hamilton.
“I didn’t expect that, but racing is full of surprises and you never know what will happen,” Stroll said. “I felt confident, felt good with the car and put it all together. The race is where it counts and I am just going to run my race, like I always do.”
Big things have been expected from the Montreal native since he showed his talent at the Ferrari driver academy from 2010 to 2015. Stroll joined Williams in 2015 after winning the Formula 3 European Series.
“We were asking him if he wanted extra practice in the wet because he’s never driven an F1 car in full wet conditions, but he said: ‘No, I’ll just take it as it comes.’ And that’s what he did,” said Paddy Lowe, Williams chief technical officer.
“Good performance in the wet is one of those things that’s very difficult to test or develop, so it’s one of those surprises that can unfold positively or negatively on the day.”
Britain’s Hamilton pulled out a clutch performance to enter the F1 record books. Hamilton overcame a late challenge from rising rival Max Verstappen to claim his 69th career pole position and break the Formula One record previously held by his childhood idol, Michael Schumacher.
Verstappen had taken the top spot just before Hamilton’s final lap, but Hamilton reclaimed it with time expired.