Busting myths about a rich F1 hopeful Lance Stroll's family backing is well known. But, MARCUS SIMMONS says, don't knock the new Williams development driver because of his wealth Lance Stroll is a very fortunate young man. Seventeen years old, recently announced as a Williams Formula 1 development driver, and about to start his second season with Prema Powerteam in the Formula 3 European Championship. He's also very wealthy, but that's just an extension of the way of the racing world is at the moment. Costs in junior single-seaters are so high, and outside support so low in the current economic climate, that these strata are the preserve mainly of those with healthy private financial backing. In this racing world made up of the offspring of successful businessmen, it's rare that any young driver at this level has a father who is employed by somebody else - Antonio Giovinazzi and Racing Steps protege Ben Barnicoat spring to mind as exceptions to this rule - but that doesn't mean to say that the wealthy don't deserve their place in the sport. There are many very fine drivers, working hard to make the most of the opportunities their parents have given them, who are renowned as good guys and nice to be around. Stroll is not really any different to them. As he says himself: "I have good financial backing, which is important - not that it's right that it's important, but clearly if you want to compete in the sport that's the only way it's going to work." So let's deal with some of the myths surrounding the Canadian. HE'S HAD EVERYTHING ON A PLATE It was almost as if a championship was made for him: the concept of FIA Formula 4 was launched in 2013 and, the following year, Italy was the first country to adopt it - with the support of the Ferrari Driver Academy on which Stroll was one of the proteges. He was 15, too young for Formula Renault 2.0, but fine for F4. But Stroll still had to win the title - which he did, against grids exceeding 20 cars. "I wasn't allowed to go Renault 2.0 since the minimum age is 16, but I think [without F4] we would have found a way to do some sort of single-seater racing," he says. "We wanted to get out of karting and start working in single-seaters. "So Italian F4 was ideal for us being with Ferrari, it was kind of our group so it was the right championship for us to participate in." HE'S PUSHED F3 COSTS TO UNSUSTAINABLE LEVELS The investment of Stroll's father Lawrence allowed Prema Powerteam to cherrypick Felix Rosenqvist to guide the F3 team and its other three drivers - including Stroll Jr - in 2015, as well as high levels of development. But this is no isolated case. New team Hitech Grand Prix is known to have strong backing from Russian Dmitry Mazepin, the father of Formula Renault graduate and F3 newboy Nikita. And Van Amersfoort Racing has investment from Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, whose son Kami races in F4. The very concept of the non-spec-formula F3 - the same underpinnings that make it the most valuable category to train future F1 drivers - leaves it prone to technical arms races. The private funding behind such teams means some talented drivers can earn rides without having to bring much in the way of budget. Stroll kept good guy Rosenqvist racing in 2015 when he could have been on the scrap heap. Not to mention the engineers and mechanics who keep their jobs. Some bemoan the current lack of manufacturer support for young drivers at this level or pine for the good old days of the 1980s where the talented earned fully commercially sponsored rides, but such benefactors have stepped into this breach. "To me, just learning from a guy with so much experience in my rookie year was massive," says Stroll of Rosenqvist. "It helped me a tremendous amount and he's also a really cool guy." HE'S BUYING SUCCESS You can prepare as well as your financial circumstances allow, but when a gigantic F3 field hits the track for 20-minute qualifying - the most important part of the weekend - it gets tough for everyone. This is where ability and experience pay the most. "There's so many obstacles in this championship to clear before you go to the front," says Stroll. "Qualifying... you don't have much time to do a laptime and there's 35 cars on the track. "It's difficult to find a free space and just by trying to avoid the main problems you can have, that's what really makes the difference." Stroll managed to qualify 17 times in the top six in 33 European F3 races - good progress for a rookie, and you can't do this without ability. SIGNING FOR FERRARI AT 11 WAS RIDICULOUS Actually, Stroll agrees on this one. "When I signed for them at 11 - sounds crazy, but that's the age you decide what you want to do, I think it's a bit nuts!," he says. "But at 12 years old when I came over to Europe to compete in international karting they were really the ones that told me what I have to do to hopefully become a champion some day. "They've always been pushing me and guiding me in the right direction, so to have them as backing was really important." F4 TO F3 WAS TOO BIG A JUMP Yes, it is for some, but for the top F4 drivers they should be on the pace pretty quickly. The more difficult aspect is racecraft. After all, if you've gone from a national F4 series comprising one tenth of the world's most talented racers at that level, it follows that F3 will be 10 times tougher. "In F4 I was a good racer," says Stroll. "Even in reversed grids I'd come back and win races. It wasn't really a problem, and even in New Zealand [where he won the early-2015 Toyota Racing Series] I raced strong, I raced hard, I was an attacker. "But sometimes in F3 I think I just got a little too excited and wanted a bit too much all the time. "Even looking at 2014, you could see Max Verstappen crash a few times here and there, making some mistakes or whatever because that's just what young drivers have to go through. All the greats have done it. "I'm not saying it's the right thing to do, but I think there's nothing wrong with learning from your mistakes." IS HE PASSIONATE ABOUT THE SPORT? His father owns the fabulous Mont Tremblant circuit, which hosted the Canadian Grand Prix in 1968 and '70 and which is a petrolhead's paradise. "It's a fun little playground!" grins Stroll. He's also contesting the Daytona 24 Hours with Chip Ganassi Racing - it's a plum drive, but one indicative of a driver with wider horizons beyond the F1 tunnel-vision you might expect. And even during his F4 season Stroll was karting for kicks, not that he'll be doing much more of it now... "I was having a fun summer and there was a Canadian championship in Mont Tremblant," he recalls. "It was, 'Sure, I'm not doing anything this weekend,' so I figured I'd do a little karting race and still to this day I have no idea what caused it, but I got a little fracture to my rib. "I thought it was bruised for a few days, but I went to the doctor and had an X-ray and it was fractured. I couldn't drive; I couldn't turn the steering wheel to the right-hand side." Stroll had to miss the F4 finale at Imola (not the ideal track if you've got a broken rib!): "But luckily I'd already won the championship so I didn't have to worry." HE NEEDS TO PROVE HE'S WORTHY OF WILLIAMS SUPPORT True, he knows this, but he's merely the latest in a line of drivers on similar roles with the team, following in the footsteps of Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas and Alex Lynn. This is a squad that really promotes talent it feels is worthwhile, and works hard to mould that ability. "It's very motivating to know that some great champions have come through Williams - Jacques Villeneuve, Jenson Button, Hulkenberg, Bottas..." says Stroll. "They really believe in young drivers, develop them and put them in an F1 car - it's another very exciting reason to work with them." HOW CAN A CANADIAN MAKE A DECENT CUP OF TEA? Stroll will be the junior in this most English of operations, at which certain standards must be met... "I think I'm pretty good - I make my own tea in the morning," he says. "But I'll have to let them try it - no one English has drunk my tea yet!" |
Busting myths about a rich F1 hopeful Lance Stroll's family backing is well known. But, MARCUS SIMMONS says, don't knock the new Williams development driver because of his wealth Lance Stroll is a very fortunate young man. Seventeen years old, recently announced as a Williams Formula 1 development driver, and about to start his second season with Prema Powerteam in the Formula 3 European Championship. He's also very wealthy, but that's just an extension of the way of the racing world is at the moment. Costs in junior single-seaters are so high, and outside support so low in the current economic climate, that these strata are the preserve mainly of those with healthy private financial backing. In this racing world made up of the offspring of successful businessmen, it's rare that any young driver at this level has a father who is employed by somebody else - Antonio Giovinazzi and Racing Steps protege Ben Barnicoat spring to mind as exceptions to this rule - but that doesn't mean to say that the wealthy don't deserve their place in the sport. There are many very fine drivers, working hard to make the most of the opportunities their parents have given them, who are renowned as good guys and nice to be around. Stroll is not really any different to them. As he says himself: "I have good financial backing, which is important - not that it's right that it's important, but clearly if you want to compete in the sport that's the only way it's going to work." So let's deal with some of the myths surrounding the Canadian. HE'S HAD EVERYTHING ON A PLATE It was almost as if a championship was made for him: the concept of FIA Formula 4 was launched in 2013 and, the following year, Italy was the first country to adopt it - with the support of the Ferrari Driver Academy on which Stroll was one of the proteges. He was 15, too young for Formula Renault 2.0, but fine for F4. But Stroll still had to win the title - which he did, against grids exceeding 20 cars. "I wasn't allowed to go Renault 2.0 since the minimum age is 16, but I think [without F4] we would have found a way to do some sort of single-seater racing," he says. "We wanted to get out of karting and start working in single-seaters. "So Italian F4 was ideal for us being with Ferrari, it was kind of our group so it was the right championship for us to participate in." HE'S PUSHED F3 COSTS TO UNSUSTAINABLE LEVELS The investment of Stroll's father Lawrence allowed Prema Powerteam to cherrypick Felix Rosenqvist to guide the F3 team and its other three drivers - including Stroll Jr - in 2015, as well as high levels of development. But this is no isolated case. New team Hitech Grand Prix is known to have strong backing from Russian Dmitry Mazepin, the father of Formula Renault graduate and F3 newboy Nikita. And Van Amersfoort Racing has investment from Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, whose son Kami races in F4. The very concept of the non-spec-formula F3 - the same underpinnings that make it the most valuable category to train future F1 drivers - leaves it prone to technical arms races. The private funding behind such teams means some talented drivers can earn rides without having to bring much in the way of budget. Stroll kept good guy Rosenqvist racing in 2015 when he could have been on the scrap heap. Not to mention the engineers and mechanics who keep their jobs. Some bemoan the current lack of manufacturer support for young drivers at this level or pine for the good old days of the 1980s where the talented earned fully commercially sponsored rides, but such benefactors have stepped into this breach. "To me, just learning from a guy with so much experience in my rookie year was massive," says Stroll of Rosenqvist. "It helped me a tremendous amount and he's also a really cool guy." HE'S BUYING SUCCESS You can prepare as well as your financial circumstances allow, but when a gigantic F3 field hits the track for 20-minute qualifying - the most important part of the weekend - it gets tough for everyone. This is where ability and experience pay the most. "There's so many obstacles in this championship to clear before you go to the front," says Stroll. "Qualifying... you don't have much time to do a laptime and there's 35 cars on the track. "It's difficult to find a free space and just by trying to avoid the main problems you can have, that's what really makes the difference." Stroll managed to qualify 17 times in the top six in 33 European F3 races - good progress for a rookie, and you can't do this without ability. SIGNING FOR FERRARI AT 11 WAS RIDICULOUS Actually, Stroll agrees on this one. "When I signed for them at 11 - sounds crazy, but that's the age you decide what you want to do, I think it's a bit nuts!," he says. "But at 12 years old when I came over to Europe to compete in international karting they were really the ones that told me what I have to do to hopefully become a champion some day. "They've always been pushing me and guiding me in the right direction, so to have them as backing was really important." F4 TO F3 WAS TOO BIG A JUMP Yes, it is for some, but for the top F4 drivers they should be on the pace pretty quickly. The more difficult aspect is racecraft. After all, if you've gone from a national F4 series comprising one tenth of the world's most talented racers at that level, it follows that F3 will be 10 times tougher. "In F4 I was a good racer," says Stroll. "Even in reversed grids I'd come back and win races. It wasn't really a problem, and even in New Zealand [where he won the early-2015 Toyota Racing Series] I raced strong, I raced hard, I was an attacker. "But sometimes in F3 I think I just got a little too excited and wanted a bit too much all the time. "Even looking at 2014, you could see Max Verstappen crash a few times here and there, making some mistakes or whatever because that's just what young drivers have to go through. All the greats have done it. "I'm not saying it's the right thing to do, but I think there's nothing wrong with learning from your mistakes." IS HE PASSIONATE ABOUT THE SPORT? His father owns the fabulous Mont Tremblant circuit, which hosted the Canadian Grand Prix in 1968 and '70 and which is a petrolhead's paradise. "It's a fun little playground!" grins Stroll. He's also contesting the Daytona 24 Hours with Chip Ganassi Racing - it's a plum drive, but one indicative of a driver with wider horizons beyond the F1 tunnel-vision you might expect. And even during his F4 season Stroll was karting for kicks, not that he'll be doing much more of it now... "I was having a fun summer and there was a Canadian championship in Mont Tremblant," he recalls. "It was, 'Sure, I'm not doing anything this weekend,' so I figured I'd do a little karting race and still to this day I have no idea what caused it, but I got a little fracture to my rib. "I thought it was bruised for a few days, but I went to the doctor and had an X-ray and it was fractured. I couldn't drive; I couldn't turn the steering wheel to the right-hand side." Stroll had to miss the F4 finale at Imola (not the ideal track if you've got a broken rib!): "But luckily I'd already won the championship so I didn't have to worry." HE NEEDS TO PROVE HE'S WORTHY OF WILLIAMS SUPPORT True, he knows this, but he's merely the latest in a line of drivers on similar roles with the team, following in the footsteps of Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas and Alex Lynn. This is a squad that really promotes talent it feels is worthwhile, and works hard to mould that ability. "It's very motivating to know that some great champions have come through Williams - Jacques Villeneuve, Jenson Button, Hulkenberg, Bottas..." says Stroll. "They really believe in young drivers, develop them and put them in an F1 car - it's another very exciting reason to work with them." HOW CAN A CANADIAN MAKE A DECENT CUP OF TEA? Stroll will be the junior in this most English of operations, at which certain standards must be met... "I think I'm pretty good - I make my own tea in the morning," he says. "But I'll have to let them try it - no one English has drunk my tea yet!" |