Stroll savouring opportunity 'to race for fun'

©Williams

Formula 1 driver Lance Stroll will be back in action this weekend, competing in the Rolex 24 Hours in Daytona. And he's loving the opportunity to get back to motor racing basics.

"The reason I'm here is because I love to race," he told RACER magazine on Friday. "I love to race for fun."

This weekend, Stroll exchanges his Williams F1 car for the #37 Jackie Chan DCR Jota Gibson LMP2. His team mates will be Felix Rosenqvist, Robin Frijns and Daniel Juncadella.

"I want to win, that's a bonus for sure," he said. "But just being here is great, being with my friends, sharing the car, that's a once in a lifetime opportunity.

"It's a time of year where I don't have to be committed to Formula 1, so I can just be here and enjoy myself.

"I'm super-happy to be in Formula 1, that was my dream since I've been a kid," he added. "[But] as much as I enjoy competing at the highest level in the world, it doesn't necessarily always allow me to go out and race and drive for the same reason that I started doing this."

He's not alone in his feelings. Two time world champion Fernando Alonso is also competing in this weekend's race, making his world endurance championship début.

"Fernando is here and here's here for the exact same reason," Stroll explained. "Just because he wants to win. He wants to drive, and he loves racing. That's what I'm all about."

Stroll admits to 'dramatic change' since racing in F1

But that's not to say that Stroll has any doubts about his career in Formula 1. Indeed, he's approaching his sophomore season with a renewed sense of energy, enthusiasm and confidence.

"Last year I was really busy wrapping my head around the whole thing and how Formula 1 works," he said.

"But now with my second season, I kind of know where to position myself between races," he said. "Where I want to be, and how I want to balance out my year, having done that once before.

"That's a huge thing in F1 - because you know what you need and what's necessary to do, and then what's not. When it's time to disappear from a race track and get away.

"I have a much better idea about what I'm going to do with that. I think that's a huge part of it."

And for Stroll, there's simply no equal for Formula 1's sense of speed and occasion.

"[Formula 1 cars] are the quickest cars ever and it's a great time," he said, adding that finishing in the points or standing on the podium was "the greatest feeling in the world."

"That's why I do it," he explained. "It's so cool, it's insane, and nothing will ever come close to that."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.