Williams mighty impressed with one 'terrific' Stroll statistic

Statistics never tell the full story behind a driver's performance but Williams' Paddy Lowe believes there's one set of numbers that speaks to Lance Stroll's undeniable talent.

The young Canadian will unexpectedly be the Grove-based outfit's most experienced driver this year, flanked by rookie 22-year-old Sergey Sirotkin.

Williams have put their full faith behind its driver pairing, the youngest and least experienced in its history, and Lowe is expecting Stroll to be much better off than he was in his challenging formative year in 2017.

"I think that Lance will approach his second season in a completely different place to his first," the Williams tech boss told ESPN.

"He came in very young, 18 years old, a very new environment, new challenge, it's a huge amount of information to manage and use in the intense environment of Formula One racing.

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"So I think at his second season he'll be so much better off and a year older, a year at that age is a really big step.

"I think we've got all the hope and the promise he can have a phenomenal second year and keep building a terrific career in Formula One."

Labeled at the outset by many as a 'rich kid' who owed his place in F1 to his father's fortune, Stroll silenced his critics with a string of drives and performances, not least of which was a top notch run to the podium in Baku.

Lowe observed and took note, but also dug into a few statistics to pull out one impressive feat.

"He knows all the tracks, he knows his way around, so he can be hugely more confident and build on the things he did last year, which were already some great successes, some very notable statistics," adds the 55-year-old engineer.

"My favourite, the one less talked about, is his first-lap performance.

"I had that feeling all year, just objectively, that he was looking really strong in that aspect but I was pleased to see the formal calculation that he'd achieved the most overtakes in lap one confirmed that," adds Lowe.

"It's a terrific statistic, as we know there are many drivers who can get a great grid spot and then throw it away at the first corner in silly incidents.

"Lance has shown himself able to fight and yet not step over the line and throw it all away."

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