Williams’ chief technical officer Paddy Lowe says he understands and appreciates the ‘challenging position’ of rookie driver Lance Stroll.
Enduring a tough start to his first full season in Formula 1, with numerous incidents in testing and three non-finishes in the first three races, questions are now beginning to arise as to whether the young teenager was ready to make the jump forward.
Having only made one appearance in Q3 at the Chinese Grand Prix, Stroll has struggled to match the superior pace of team-mate Felipe Massa on a regular basis, meaning Williams have been losing valuable points in their battle with main rival Force India.
Lowe told Fox Sports: “One of the very difficult things for Lance is the enormous pressure placed upon him.
“He’s a driver with a lot of expectation around him from not just people close to him but even more across the paddock, because there’s a lot of spotlight on how he got here and ‘does he really deserve the drive?’ and all those things.
“Racing drivers are by their natures super-competitive, they are the best and the worst at beating themselves up if they don’t think they are performing as they should. So that cascades and creates its own pressure for him.”
One of Stroll’s biggest criticisms from some pundits is that he appear to be too erratic behind the wheel and needs to try and relax, and allow the car to guide him instead of trying too hard and hustle the Williams around the track.
Lowe added: “I appreciate the challenging position he’s in so I’m trying to help him through that.
“One thing that’s important is actually to just enjoy it. people love driving quick cars and actually if you’re not here enjoying it, it’s not going to go well. But it’s more easily said than done with all the pressure.”
With the Monaco Grand Prix the next stop on the F1 calendar, Massa believes Stroll could be facing his biggest challenge yet around the streets of the principality as it’s a circuit he has yet to experience.
Massa added: “I think Monaco will be tricky for everybody and for Lance it will be maybe one of the most difficult tracks for him because he doesn’t know the track.”
