Williams have announced that FIA Formula 3 champion Lance Stroll will replace the retiring Felipe Massa for the 2017 season, where he will line-up alongside Valtteri Bottas.
The Canadian, who turned 18 just last week, has dominated the junior series this season, having won 14 races, including the final five of the season, to outscore runner-up Maximilian Gunther by 187 points.
In early-2015, Stroll joined Ferrari’s Driver Academy before taking on a Williams development role at the end of the year, a role he held throughout 2016.
As part of his development to ready him for his F1 debut with the team, Stroll has been testing previous Williams cars during private tests funded by billionaire father Lawrence Stroll.
He moves up to a race driver role at Williams alongside Bottas, who remains at the Grove-based outfit for a fifth season.
"To be racing in Formula 1 in 2017 is incredible, I can’t thank Williams enough for showing faith in my ability," Stroll said.
"Racing in F1 was something I dreamt about as a young kid. When I began karting seriously, F1 was then the ultimate goal and especially when I started racing cars in 2014.
"2017 is going to be a big learning curve for me, but I’m eager to absorb everything Williams can share with me so that I improve. I’ll be taking things on a race-by-race, lap-by-lap basis and hopefully progress with experience like I did when I entered Formula 4 and then Formula 3.
"I’ve been experiencing a 2014-spec Williams FW36 since August, which has gone very well. The power is incredible. I’m learning about the car, the incredible downforce, DRS and tyre management, finding a rhythm and finding the limit. I’m becoming more comfortable and confident with each run."
Bottas added: “Firstly, I am very happy that I will be starting my fifth season racing for Williams in 2017. It’s going to be an exciting year with all the regulation changes and a great opportunity for the team to get closer to the front.
"I’ll be giving 100% as always to the team. I’d also like to extend a very warm welcome from myself to Lance on joining the team. I look forward to seeing what we can achieve together. Going into next season, it will be eight years in total since I joined at the start of 2010, so it really does feel like home here. However, I still believe we haven’t yet achieved what we should, and can do together."
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