Lowe admits Stroll came into F1 "too early"

Williams chief technical officer Paddy Lowe believes Lance Stroll came into Formula One "too early" and would have been better off preparing for the sport more.

Stroll was brought into the spotlight in 2017 for Williams, becoming Canada's first F1 driver since world champion Jacques Villeneuve.

The Canadian youngster suffered a tough start to his F1 career with three race retirements out of his first four races, and Lowe believes he could have done with another year "learning the ropes", perhaps as a simulation driver.

"With Lance, his second year in Formula 1, my personal view is that in hindsight he came into Formula 1 too early," Lowe told RACER. "There are a number of reasons for that, but I think he would have been better to come a year later when he was better prepared."

With Stroll now joining his father, who has recently taken over Force India, Lowe believes he's seen a significant improvement from the driver.

"It was a really, really tough year for him last year but we have seen him make a real step change over the winter. He's been much stronger this year, particularly in his qualifying which was a difficult part for him last year.

"But he's completely transformed his approach to qualifying this year and that's played out well for him. And then becoming more confident as a driver, therefore getting some better results from that."