Stroll: It's been a survival year but I have matured

A year ago one could look back on his rookie season and give him a thumbs up, his podium [nearly second place if you recall] a highlight of his solid year in the top flight.

But the FW41 they built for him for 2018 has been a horrible piece of kit and the young Canadian has suffered because of it, so much so his billionaire father Lawrence Stroll has bought him a team to show his true skills and end his son's agony.

Speaking to the official F1 website, Stroll reflected, "It has been very challenging. The car just hasn’t been there so we’ve just been surviving every weekend rather than actually competing."

“We’ve been getting knocked out in Q1 a lot, most of the races I’ve had good starts and I’ve been in a points-scoring position, we’ve just fell back down the order so it’s kind of always been the case, we’ve just been on the back foot throughout the whole year.

“We haven’t really developed the car at all since Australia, I don’t think we’ve really improved the car at all. It’s been tough to see some of our competitors early on, like Sauber, for example, who were neck and neck with us at the beginning, make big steps in the right direction, compared to us.

“Yeah, it’s been a survival year, that’s all I can say. But I’ve still developed as a driver, I’ve matured as a driver. The second year in Formula 1, more seat time, more experience.

“I’ve absorbed a lot of information, even though it’s been a very challenging year compared to last year but that’s the nature of the sport. As a driver, you have to accept that some years are more challenging than others and that’s part of the game.”

During the summer break Stroll senior abandoned the sinking ship at Williams to rescue an almost sunk ship in Force India so that his son's career in F1 can sail on. The Silverstone outfit has traditionally produced excellent F1 cars with relatively tiny and uncertain resources at their disposal.

How good will they be in 2019 with proper investment and bank balance in control remains to be seen...

Although it is a given that Stroll will race for his father's outfit next year, the 20-year-old is being tight-lipped about his plans, “I mean, right now I’m just taking it day by day, year by year. We’ll see, but there are so many factors in Formula 1 that are important.”

“You need to be in a good car first of all – this year has been a good example: it’s been a very challenging year with the car. The performance really hasn’t been there and therefore we couldn’t score many points.

“So that’s a bit part of it – but yeah, I’m not looking too far down the line right now, I’m really just trying to, y’know, focus on the present, make the most of where I am currently and we’ll see down the line what happens. It’s too hard to tell, sitting here today,” added Stroll.