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Claire Williams has defended Lance Stroll amid the criticism that has come his way since his debut in Melbourne. The Canadian has been off the pace of team mate Felipe Massa and has failed to finish both races, with Williams pointing out the latter issue is not Stroll's fault.
The midfield battle looks to be tighter than ever this year as all teams look set to fight for the best of the rest position in fourth, as Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull look too far ahead of the rest. Williams admitted that having a rookie could set them back in that challenge, but voices her confidence in the 18-year-old.
"Yes, I know that having a rookie in your car you are always going to have those concerns but I think it’s still fairly early days, we’re only at race three of the season but I think to date in those first two races, despite obviously having the two DNFs, neither of which was Lance’s fault, that he’s already acquitted himself quite impressively to date.
"He’s done a fantastic job in China alone, getting into Q3 in only his second qualifying session, when he had very few laps in the Friday session, like everybody obviously, but still… I don’t have as many concerns as you might imagine.
"I think Lance has really proved that he deserves the seat in a very short space of time. Obviously, we are going to give him the space he needs in order to grow and to build but I don’t actually doubt that he’s going to be able to be capable of scoring the points that we need him to."
Yesterday, Stroll reported that he was in heavy discomfort, driving while his feet were being burned. It is still not yet known what caused the issue, but the he was able to walk away without any treatment and will continue the weekend as normal.
Fergal Walsh
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Posts: 1,804
Criticism has been too much for him so far