Presented by Degree
We Canadians are very proud of our world-renowned athletes. Whether it be Sidney Crosby in Hockey, Eugenie Bouchard or Milos Raonic in Tennis, Mike Weir in Golf or former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve, when a Canadian athlete competes on the world stage we pay attention. For Quebec-born athletes it’s magnified even further for fans in the home province so it’s no surprise the announcement last fall that Montreal-born Lance Stroll would be driving for Williams this season made some news.
Who Is Lance Stroll?
The 18-year old racing sensation is the son of billionaire investor Lawrence stroll who has long been associated with the racing world. Stroll senior owns the former F1 track Circuit Mont Tremblant, owns Quebec’s Ferrari dealership and has one of the most expensive Ferrari collections in the world. It’s evident his connections and money have aided his son get to where he is today but Lance’s record is impressive on its own.
Lance developed an interest in racing at just five years old when he started driving go karts. He started winning local karting championships just three years later and after a strong of karting wins was selected to take part in Ferrari’s prestigious Driver Academy in 2010 at age 11. The academy was created to promote and groom young talent for eventual entry into Formula 1.
In 2014 Lance moved up to single-seaters and entered the Italian Formula 4 series, taking the championship on his first attempt. He was also selected that year to be a part of the Williams test program, driving F1 cars prepared by Mercedes on several tracks around the world. In 2015 he won another championship – this time the New Zealand Toyota Racing Series along with a fifth place finish in the European F3 Series. In 2016 he blew everyone away in the Euro F3 with 14 victories and 20 podium finishes, taking the championship.
Nevertheless many people like to claim that his father bought him a seat in F1 so Lance has set out to prove them he deserves to be there as much as any of the other drivers.
“Everyone has their own opinion, I can’t change that,” Lance Stroll said. “I come from money, I am not going to deny that. But I believe I won my shot in F1 because I won every championship I have competed in in single-seaters.”
“I don’t want to say exactly when I’ll be able to show everyone that I’m not just here for money because that depends on so many other things and details coming into place, but I’m just going to worry about my business.”
Lance’s stint with Williams Martini Racing in partnership with Degree has had a bit of a bumpy start with the rookie only managing to finish two of the first five races with a best result of 11th. He’ll look to improve during the Monaco Grand Prix next week. If Lance can string together a few podium finishes or even a victory this year, it’ll go a long way toward silencing his critics.
Canadians are rooting for Stroll as he’s the first native driver to race for F1 since the departure of former world champion Jacques Villeneuve who departed after the 2006 season.
MontrealRacing.com will be interviewing Lance Stroll on June 6 when he’s in town for the Montreal Grand Prix. Stay tuned for more news and updates.