Stroll in frame for vacant Williams seat in 2017

©WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING

F3 championship leader Lance Stroll is in the frame for the seat vacated by Felipe Massa at Williams in 2017.

Stroll is currently in a development role at Williams alongside his F3 commitments having joined the team in November last year after leaving the Ferrari Driver Academy. The role he took on the time saw Williams commit to giving the Canadian youngster "extensive simulator time" as part of a program similar to that enjoyed by Valtteri Bottas before his promotion to a race seat.

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With Massa announcing his retirement from F1 at the start of the Italian Grand Prix weekend, Williams has at least one race seat available for next year and saw Jenson Button ruled out after he decided to take a year off racing in 2017 while staying with McLaren.

Button had been high on the Williams list, and his decision has strengthened Stroll's chances of securing a race seat after an impressive campaign in F3 so far. With seven victories to his name this year already, Stroll currently holds a 61-point lead in the drivers' standings.

Williams is believed to have options over the 18-year-old as a result of its current deal, and could opt to promote Stroll next season. Although he does not currently have a superlicence to race in F1, Stroll will earn enough points to secure one if he finishes in the top three of the F3 championship this year.

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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.