Stroll: 'I proved I'm capable of doing a good job'

©Williams

Has "the worst rookie in the history of F1" silenced his critics? Lance Stroll believed he has after amassing forty points in his maiden year of Grand Prix racing.

Fellow Canadian Jacques Villeneuve was all over Stroll in the early part of the year, believing the 19-year-old was "the worst rookie" he'd ever seen in Formula 1.

Indeed, Stroll was under intense scrutiny when the season kicked off in Melbourne, with many suggesting the Williams driver - bankrolled by his billionaire father Lawrence Stroll - was out of his depth in F1.

Despite a troubled start, the young apprentice kept his head down and worked relentlessly to improve. A run in the points in Canada followed by a stunning podium finish in Baku confounded his critics.

Stroll targets qualifying form as main area of improvement

More points accumulated in Austrian and Italy, and during the Asian tour, confirmed Stroll's merits.

The Williams driver insists however that his motivation was never to answer the negative pundits during his maiden campaign, but rather to prove to himself his ability to race at the highest level.

"It's not to prove anyone wrong, it's to prove to myself that I'm capable of being the best I can be and doing a good job at what I do," he told Motorsport.com

"It doesn't change anything for me, I'm the same person I was eight months ago when I was going through those hard times.

"It's been a great year, we've definitely had some great results, broke some records."

While he admits there's still a lot to learn and areas to improve, Stroll admits his 2017 track record surpassed his expectations.

"I'm looking where we sit today in the standings, with the amount of points we scored, 40 world championship points – if I could have signed up for that at the beginning of the year, going into my rookie season, I definitely would have.

"Of course there are things we've got to work on over the winter to come into next year stronger and better.

"Just more experience will help. But for a rookie season, I'm really happy about how it went."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.