Rushing through the ranks
Lance's successes in karting immediately put him on the map for major teams in the premier class. Ferrari included him in their junior programme (Ferrari Driver Academy) and the Canadian competed in two formula championships in 2015: Formula 3 and the Toyota Racing Series. The first year in Formula 3 was disappointing with only P5.
Nevertheless, Lance Stroll remained loyal to the Prema Power team, with whom the Canadian also managed to win the Italian Formula 4 championship in 2014. In 2016, Stroll got a second chance and won the Formula 3 title! A feat that catapulted him straight into Formula 1.
That came at a price, though: prior to that season, the driver from Canada announced he was quitting as a development driver at Ferrari to move to the Williams team. All ties with the Maranello team were cut, but this allowed him to make his F1 debut at a young age.
Williams era
After the 2016 season in Formula 3, the time has come: Paddy Lowe of Williams announced the then still very young Stroll as a replacement for Valtteri Bottas, who left for Mercedes. Felipe Massa stayed on for another year to teach the Canadian a thing or two. It was a difficult season, but his absolute highlight was in Baku, where he finished in third place.
In 2018, Williams' car (the FW41) was poor and Stroll struggled to score points. Veteran Felipe Massa left and newcomer Sergey Sirotkin had little to teach Stroll. Frank Williams' Formula One team finished in last place with seven points, with Lance Stroll responsible for six of those.
Stroll takes over Force India
In 2019, Stroll got the desired move to a competitive team (Racing Point), after his father Lawrence Stroll bought the team. There, however, he himself at times ensures that people continue to label him as a 'pay-driver'. The son of the boss comes up well short of the experienced Sergio Perez and even managed to finish behind Williams in several races.
In the 2020 Formula 1 season, he again lost out to Perez, but he started to get some positive results. Two podiums and a pole position on a slippery Istanbul Park at the Turkish Grand Prix are the highlights.
Stroll and Vettel at Aston Martin
Racing Point was renamed Aston Martin in 2021 and he was joined by four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel. The pressure to live up to the team's famous name and keep up with the four-time world champion is high, but Stroll is proving he can hold his own. Although he has the experienced Vettel to beat in the overall standings, he is able to keep up with his pace.
Lance Stroll in 2022
In the 2022 Formula 1 season, Stroll will have another opportunity to show his qualities. Everyone starts with a relatively clean slate due to the radical rule changes, so the young Canadian will need to be on top of his game to find his feet in the new car and avoid falling behind Vettel.
