Stroll progress exceeding Williams expectations

Lance Stroll's progress during pre-season testing exceeded the expectations of his own team, according to Williams head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley.

Making the step up from F3 to Formula 1 at the age of 18, Stroll had a difficult first week of testing as he crashed twice and damaged the car heavily enough to rule out running on the final day. However, he recovered with a strong second week and avoided similar incidents, with Smedley saying Stroll's response was particularly impressive given his age.

"We're really, really pleased as a team with what he's done," Smedley said. "He had a little bit of a time of it [in the first week] but for us at least it was absolutely nothing that we didn't expect. He's getting into these bigger cars, they are definitely in places more difficult to drive and this is all part of the learning curve.

"I think what has been really impressive about Lance is the way he adapted [in the second week]. He got back in, he just got his head down and started to deliver. He's doing a really good job, there is a learning process for him, the learning process isn't going to stop [immediately], it's going to carry on. We're ready for that, he's ready for that and I think it shows great maturity from him to embrace the challenge that is ahead of him.

"What I will say is what we've seen of him [in the second week] is very, very impressive. He's not really put a foot wrong. He's got in the car, he hasn't been fazed by any of it. He hasn't been fazed by perhaps some of the attention he was getting [after crashing] and he's shown great resolve and great strength of character. He's 18 years old – we've got to remember that – and he's already ahead of certainly where we would expect him to be at this stage."

With Stroll having dominated last year's F3 championship, Smedley says he was already convinced of the Canadian's potential but wasn't expecting to see such a strong showing as early as in pre-season.

"I don't think it surprised me to be honest, having seen what he was able to do previously in his career," Smedley replied when asked by RACER if Stroll's rapid improvement had been a surprise. "But there's an element perhaps that we didn't expect him to be quite as strong as he has been. Also I guess the maturity he has shown. I was talking to some of the guys about the way he approached the higher fuel and race runs, and he's quite calm for somebody who is 18 years old.

"He's got a really good methodology in his approach. He's quite analytical, he's starting to jel really well with his engineers which I think is an absolute key point and he needs to carry on with that. It's just where he is on the learning curve, really. We know he's going to get from being a rookie Formula 1 driver having never turned a wheel to someone who is very good and is delivering lots of points and beyond for the team. It's just how quickly he can get there, and that will probably be the true measure of how good he is.

"At the minute he is definitely further ahead of where we expected him to be and I think we've just got to take the positives as they come and keep supporting him."