Lance Stroll unfazed by Canadian Grand Prix debut
If Lance Stroll is nervous about his Formula One home debut, he sure is good at hiding it.
The Montreal-born rookie
— all of 18 years old — was the picture of poise Tuesday under the glare of television lights as he met with local reporters ahead of his highly anticipated appearance at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Dressed in jeans, ankle-high sneakers and a crisp team Williams top, Stroll spoke calmly and eloquently about his good fortune of finding himself living the dream of racing at the highest level of motorsport, the difficulties he’s encountered in his rookie season so far, and the challenges that lie ahead.
Through it all, not a hint of sweat.
It was strangely fitting that the event was sponsored by an antiperspirant company.
“I’m super excited; it’s a special week for me,” he said. “It’s going to be emotional. I have my family here, my friends, and a lot of people are going to be coming out see me.”
Yes, lots. Ticket sales are ticking along nicely, 10 to 15 per cent better than last year at this point, according to promoter François Dumontier, who was on hand.
Dumontier credits “l’effet Stroll” — the Stroll factor — as a key contributor to the increase, and expects strong walk-up sales over the three days of the event if the weather co-operates.
As is often pointed out — and was again Tuesday — Stroll is the first Canadian in 10 years to drive in Formula One, following in the footsteps of Jacques Villeneuve, who at the height of his career enjoyed rock-star status in his native Quebec.
If all this seems like a lot to throw on the shoulders of a teenager, well, it is, even in the best of circumstances. And these are not the best of circumstances for Stroll.
By any measure, the kid has had a rough start to his F1 career. Of the first six races leading to Montreal, he’s finished two. Neither time did he crack the top 10, meaning he’s yet to score a point in the championship standings.
Inevitably, some unkind words have been written about him, particularly in regard to his moneyed family. The insinuation is that dollars — not skill — paved his road to F1.
And yet, Stroll does not bristle at such talk. He even expects it. What he does is he hits it head on with a maturity beyond his years, and he turns negatives into positives.
“I think you have to,” he said. “It’s the only way you can survive at this level. If you focus on the negative side, it just brings your confidence down.
“I mean, the media pressure is always there at this level. You don’t want to focus on that. You want to focus on the fans, and on the positive energy that you receive from them. And so far this week in Montreal, from what I’ve seen, it’s been very positive.
“That’s what I’ve been focusing on leading to the weekend, and I look forward to seeing some Canadian flags out there.”
Stroll was asked whether his difficult start to the season came down to bad luck, and you would not fault him if he chose to jump all over that. Two of his four retirements have been due to mechanical failures on his Williams car, while the other two were the result of accidents for which he could not reasonably be blamed.
“A bit,” he said of the bad luck factor, before quickly returning to his mantra: “But there are some positives, too.”
And he’s not wrong about that. In Australia and Monaco, he might well have finished in the points had his car not let him down. In China, in only his second Grand Prix, he made it to the third and final round of qualifying. In Russia, he finished 11th — just one spot outside a points-scoring position.
“That’s not bad,” he noted, and rightly so.
In the same way, it’s too easy to point to his family background — the wiki entry for his father, Lawrence Stroll, says “billionaire investor and collector of vintage Ferraris” — and overlook his accomplishments in lower formulas, including championships in Formula 3 and 4.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have had good financial support,” Stroll said. “Motorsport is very expensive. It’s unfortunate, because you see so much talent that never makes it to the top due to the lack of financial support.
“In that area, I’ve been very fortunate growing up. I’ve been able to take advantage of it and win championships to get to where I am.
“I’m very thankful for the support I’ve had, but I’ve taken it with both hands and made the most of it.”
As for whether he feels he’s expected to fill the shoes of Jacques Villeneuve, Stroll again prefers to take a positive look forward.
“Times have changed,” he said. “Formula One is very different today from when Jacques was there. I’m concentrating on my things, taking it one race at a time.”
His next race — this Sunday in his hometown — will be the biggest of his young life.
No sweat.
It’s unfortunate, because you see so much talent that never makes it to the top due to the lack of financial support. LANCE STROLL