Lance Stroll started his race weekend on a positive note and ended it on a cloud, the teenager rookie earning his first ever F1 podium this afternoon in Baku.
The 18-year-old made the most of a chaotic but thrilling Azerbaijan Grand Prix, running smoothly in the top ten at the outset before taking advantage of a clash between Force India's drivers and Kimi Raikkonen's demise after the Finn's Ferrari was struck by debris.
Stroll found himself fourth behind team mate Felipe Massa during a 20-minute red flag period but the Brazilian relinquished his spot when a rear damper failed on the Williams.
Vettel's 10-second stop-and-go penalty further promoted Stroll to second, a result he held on to until a few yards from the checkered flag when a fast-recovering Valtteri Bottas whizzed by to steal the runner-up spot.
Stroll was anything but disappointed however.
"I'm just lost for words right now," Stroll said after the race.
"I don't even know what to say. I can't quite realise what just happened. It was a hectic race, people crashing and we stayed out of trouble. I kept my head cool and took it to the end.
"I lost out to Valtteri in the end, I reckon that was probably one of the closest finishes of all time.
"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, it's so amazing."
The Canadian admitted the closing stages of the race were difficult as his car was progressively becoming a handful to drive.
"It was tricky because I started to feel the rear going away. I knew it was going to be tricky to keep up the pace, so I tried to just push but not push, trying to get good lap times while saving the tyres."
As the second youngest driver to achieve a podium finish in F1, Lance Stroll will forever remember Baku 2017.
"You dream of being on an F1 podium growing up as a kid. You work towards it your whole life, and you finally feel the moment.
"It's going to sink in tomorrow morning."
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