Hamilton: 'A very tough year for Stroll to come into F1'

Lewis Hamilton expressed his sympathy for Lance Stroll's predicament, insisting the 2017 regulation change makes it very difficult for a rookie to enter  F1.

Stroll successive off track excursions, the last of which may prevent Williams from taking part in today's wet weather session, were probably a blend of inexperience and challenging circumstances.

"I feel for him in the sense it's the toughest year to come in to Formula 1," Hamilton said.

"I know he's been travelling around the world testing with Williams, he's definitely had more preparation time than any other driver coming in would have had.

"It's to be expected, it's not an easy car to drive at all. It's so much faster through the corners.

"Precision is even more important than in the past - last year's car is easy compared to this year's car."

Stroll's mistakes have undoubtedly set back his preparation and Williams testing programme, but Hamilton's view is that the Canadian is better off committing the mistakes now rather than later.

"These are only the first stages," said Hamilton.

"You can't just jump in and drive from no experience at all to be consistent and not spin, and that's to be expected.

"It's actually good for him to go through this now rather than the first race."

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