Williams rookie Lance Stroll turned around his fortunes after a frantic Azerbaijan Grand Prix gave him the opportunity to claim his maiden podium in Formula 1.
Throughout the whole weekend, Stroll managed to stay composed, fast and crucially out of the barrier around the Baku circuit.
As other drivers were dropping out of contention at a rapid rate, the young Canadian kept his nose clean to clinch the best result for himself and the team so far this season.
The 18-year old ran in second in the latter part of the race, however, once Valtteri Bottas got past Esteban Ocon into third place, the Finn quickly ramped up the pace to hunt Stroll down.
It looked touch and go as to whether Bottas would catch Stroll in the dying laps, but the superior pace of the Mercedes allowed Bottas to pass the Williams just before the finish line.
“I’m just lost for words right now,” said Stroll. “It was such a hectic race and so much happened, but the team kept me cool on the radio, the pace was good, we took it to the end and stayed out of trouble.
“I can’t quite believe what’s just happened. We just lost out to Valtteri at the end there in one of the closest finishes of all time going side-by-side across the finish line.
“Coming into this weekend I never thought I would be standing on the podium. It’s an amazing feeling and, for me, a dream come true.
“However, what happened today was a team effort and I can’t thank everyone enough for making this happen. I am just so sorry that I could not celebrate with Felipe, as that would have been the icing on the cake. I am sure without his problems he would have been up there with me.”
Williams chief technical officer Paddy Lowe did not expect a podium after the frantic events of the race by adding: “Who would have expected that podium at the beginning of today?
“It’s a terrific result for Lance to become the youngest rookie (in his rookie season) in history to score a podium. He’s had a brilliant weekend.
“He’s been faultless in every session, he’s stayed out of trouble, didn’t have any incidents and that carried into the race. He kept it clean, had good pace and managed the car and the tyres well.
“It was a good battle at the end and we were very unfortunate to lose second place. The critical moment was that Valtteri got DRS on the last lap, that lost Lance second place. But we’re very happy with third.”
