Lowe looking forward to 'interesting' Stroll development

Williams technical chief Paddy Lowe has admitted that it will be "interesting" to witness how Lance Stroll develops as a driver this season now that he does not have the experienced Felipe Massa around to gain knowledge from, with Sergey Sirotkin in the other seat this year.

Stroll is just 19-years-old but will be the more experienced driver in the Williams team this year, with 22-year-old Sirotkin having only been a test and reserve driver in Formula One previously.

Lowe has backed the Canadian to continue to improve, and is interested to see how it happens now the team-mate dynamic has changed.

“We should still remember he is still 19, which is still very young although he is a very mature young man for that age,” said Lowe.

“But he is on a completely different level to how he was 12 months ago and I think we will see that in the way he approaches races.

“It’s a different context for him with Sergey alongside him rather than Felipe that puts a different focus for him. Felipe was a great reference for Lance but we need to develop in ourselves and not use external references.

“It’s an interesting change and I will be intrigued to see how it plays out. Sergey is not a known reference like Felipe and that gives Lance a different context.

“There’s almost a bad thing about saying ‘my mission here is to match Felipe. Actually your mission is to do something and then decide how you can do it better.”

Stroll impressed last season and although he finished behind Massa in the rankings, he was the only driver outside of Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull to actually claim a podium spot. Now that Sirotkin has come on board, Williams currently have the youngest driving duo on the grid.