Paul Jeffrey
Premium
Lance Stroll impressed the Formula One fraternity once again in Baku this weekend, securing his second points finish in a row and bagging his first career podium to boot.
Stroll capped a fantastic weekend with his first ever rostrum finish in Formula One to become just the second teenager behind Max Verstappen to stand upon the podium at a Formula One Grand Prix race weekend.
"I can't quite realise what just happened," Stroll said. "I'm sort of lost for words. I couldn’t believe coming into the weekend that I would be standing on the podium!
As a mark of how far the driver has come in just two short weeks since the beginning of the Canadian Grand Prix, Stroll was even slightly disappointed with his third place finish as the Williams driver thought a potential second place was on the table come the end of the race in Baku.
"It was a bit disappointing to lose P2 at the end to Valtteri, but all in all an amazing race - just amazing. I'm over the moon.
"The team kept me cool and I kept my cool, but I knew how close [Bottas] was and with two laps to go I saw him in my mirrors. I knew it was going to be tricky, but I thought I had him going into the final straight... but he was just a bit too quick with the DRS. I think that's probably one of the closest finishes of all time!
"The team kept me cool and I kept my cool, but I knew how close [Bottas] was and with two laps to go I saw him in my mirrors. I knew it was going to be tricky, but I thought I had him going into the final straight... but he was just a bit too quick with the DRS. I think that's probably one of the closest finishes of all time!
Following an equally cool and polished performance last time out in Canada where the young Canadian kept his head for ninth when those around them lost theirs, Stroll appears to be growing up fast in Formula One terms as he looks to finally put the 'pay driver' tag and multimillionaire father behind him and perform out on the circuit for his team.
Consecutive points finishes and a debut podium, has the youngster finally begun to show the world of Formula One that he's more that just a substantial pay day for his Williams team?
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Do you think Stroll has proven his worth in Formula One recently? Can the youngster build on recent results and establish himself in the sport for the long term? Let us know in the comments section below!
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