Move over Max Verstappen, there’s a new kid on the grid — and his Dad’s a billionaire.
Lance Stroll — who turned 18 at the end of October — will drive alongside Valtteri Bottas for the Williams Formula One team in 2017, it was announced Thursday.
Just like Red Bull racer Verstappen, the Canadian teenager comes into F1 on a wave of hype and expectation.
Stroll has racing pedigree, impressively winning the 2016 Formula 3 European Championship with 14 race wins and 14 pole positions.
He was just 12 when he joined Ferrari’s young driver academy before moving to a wider role in the Williams development program.
Off track he also has another magic ingredient for wannabe racers — the support of his father Lawrence Stroll, who made his money in fashion retail and according to Forbes is worth $2.4 billion.
Stroll Sr. also collects vintage Ferraris and sparked his son’s love of racing when he bought him a kart for his fifth birthday.
“I’ve enjoyed success in karting, F4, Toyota Racing Series and most recently F3 — winning every category I’ve competed in — so I believe I have earned a shot in F1,” said Stroll Jr.
“To be racing in Formula One in 2017 is incredible, I can’t thank Williams enough for showing faith in my ability. Racing in F1 was something I dreamed about as a young kid.”
Stroll is now eligible to join the F1 grid after reaching his 18th birthday and doing enough on track to qualify for a mandatory super license.
The sport’s governing body, the FIA, introduced a minimum age for F1 racers after Verstappen debuted at just 17 — before he was old enough to drive a road car in his native Netherlands.
Source-CNN
