@lance_stroll •@WilliamsRacing •(November 26, 2015)-Lance Stroll has been selected by Williams Martini Racing to join its Young Driver Development Programme. The Montréal-born teenager, who turned 17-years-old last month (29 Oct), will be fully-immersed into the Williams team next year in a similar capacity to that of Valtteri Bottas when he first joined the team in a development role in 2011.
The programme includes extensive simulator time, work placements in several departments throughout the factory, as well as specific training in the fields of race engineering and marketing. Stroll will contest the FIA European Formula 3 Championship for a second consecutive year for Prema Powerteam in 2016.
Geneva-based Stroll won the Italian Formula 4 Championship with Prema last year while at the beginning of this year, won the New Zealand-based Toyota Racing Series. Lance placed fifth in his maiden Euro F3 season, winning a race outright and registering 17 top-six overall race finishes. He began his motorsport career in karts in 2008, recording numerous race and championship wins in his native Canada and North America, before racing karts in Europe from 2011 and then in World Championship events.
Williams is one of the world’s leading Formula One teams winning Grands Prix for more than three decades. The Williams name has been synonymous with top-level motorsport since the 1960s. Team Principal Frank Williams founded Frank Williams Racing Cars in 1966 and entered F1 in 1969 before establishing Williams Grand Prix Engineering with British engineer Patrick Head in 1977. Williams has since won 16 FIA Formula One World Championship titles, nine for constructors and seven for drivers, and is the third most successful team on the grid.
Lance Stroll (CAN). Age: 17.
Born: Montréal, Québec, Canada. Lives: Geneva, Switzerland:
“I’m really honoured to be part of such a great team [Williams] and one with so much history and success. I cannot wait to start working with them and very much hope we can achieve great things together in the coming years. It’s a very exciting and crucial time in my short motor racing career. Reaching F1 was always the ultimate goal, I suppose ever since driving a go-kart my father had bought me for my fifth birthday. We set up some cones in a parking lot and I just drove around. Three years later I had my first kart race and won by which time I was waking up on Sundays and watching my idol Michael Schumacher on television racing in Grands Prix around the world and dreaming that could be me one day.
“Williams has a long history of nurturing young drivers at the start of their F1 careers. Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, Nico Hülkenberg and most recently Valtteri [Bottas]. This element was something that was important to me in making the decision to join Williams. I’m very thankful to the Ferrari Driver Academy and proud to have represented the legendary Italian brand since 2010. Their guidance and experience has been massively beneficial for my career coming through from karting in to single-seaters and laying the foundations for what I hope will ultimately be a successful F1 career. But my future is now with Williams which I’m very excited about.”
Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal:
“At Williams, we are committed to using our resource and expertise to help talented young drivers to reach their potential. We have a track record of success in this area, having supported Valtteri Bottas in his growth from a development driver role to a race driver and one of the most respected talents in Formula One. We have identified Lance as a promising talent for the future and we are happy to provide our support to his development as a driver. We look forward to working with Lance in 2016 and to the success he can achieve in the future.”
FOR LANCE STROLL MEDIA ENQUIRES PLEASE CONTACT:
Martyn Pass, Martyn Pass Public Relations Ltd.
TELEPHONE: +44 7801 859502
EMAIL: media@lancestroll.com
Discussion about this post