Lance Stroll says his greater experience means he is “a lot more on top of” Williams’ car compared to last year, in spite of the team’s regression in the pecking order.
Stroll was equipped with a midfield contender during his rookie campaign in Formula 1, as the team placed fifth, but the lacklustre FW41 has hurt the operation’s 2018 prospects.
Stroll scored Williams’ only points so far courtesy of eighth place in Azerbaijan, and a gap has opened in the standings between itself and nearest opponent Sauber.
The 19-year-old nonetheless feels that his experience from last season is standing him in greater stead in how he approaches the challenges amid Williams’ current predicament.
“I just feel like generally I am a lot more on top of the car,” said Stroll.
“I have a lot more of an idea on how to extract as much as possible out of it, especially also my working relationship with the engineers and what I’m looking for, what I’m trying to find from the car.
“That wasn’t really there for me last year, because I felt like I was always one step behind during the weekend.
“I often got surprised on what I would feel when I was in the car, but now I’ve experienced every circuit, mostly every circuit, I’ve got a bit of a better picture of what’s going to happen.
“I feel more on top of things, and that leads to a lot of improved areas.”
Stroll added: “I’ve built on some of my strengths, I’ve improved on some of my weaknesses, and there’s still definitely plenty more to come.
“I’m still 19 and I still believe that I can definitely get a lot more out of myself with more seat time.
“I’m happy still that when there was one weekend in Azerbaijan when the car was somewhat competitive, we were just on the edge of Q3. For some reason it just kind of clicked that weekend.
“We were able to grab some points, and bring home a result. It gives a bit of hope.
“At least for myself, I know that when there was that opportunity, and we were around the top 10 in the fight, in the mix, we were able to steal that points. That can happen again this year.”
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