Stroll’s podium finish
"IT'S a dream come true," said 18-year-old Jewish Canadian Formula 1 driver Lance Stroll, who took third place at the Grand Prix in Azerbaijan last weekend.
“IT’S a dream come true,” said 18-year-old Jewish Canadian Formula 1 driver Lance Stroll, who took third place at the Grand Prix in Azerbaijan last weekend.
“You dream of being on an F1 podium as a kid, you work towards it your whole life and you finally feel the moment. I think it’s going to sink in tomorrow morning.”
Stroll is now the youngest rookie and the second-youngest driver in history to take the podium in a Grand Prix. In what was just eighth race of his F1 career, Stroll was pipped at the post by Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, who snatched second place by mere milliseconds. In first place was Australian Daniel Ricciardo.
“I reckon that was probably one of the closest finishes of all time,” Stroll said. “We were side-by-side across the finish line but what a race. I couldn’t believe coming into the weekend that I would be standing on the podium!”
He dedicated his win to his team who “kept him cool [and] took him to the end”, edging out the likes of Sebastian Vettel (4th) and Lewis Hamilton (5th).
Despite facing heavy criticism earlier in the season for not earning a point in the first six races of the season and failing to finish four, Stroll earned his first-ever top-ten finish at the Canadian Grand Prix in his hometown of Montreal earlier this month.
“Motorsport is a love-hate relationship,” said Stroll, who will next take the track at the Austrian Grand Prix on July 9. “We had a couple of hard races but the last two races have been amazing and I’m just over the moon.”
YAEL BRENDER
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