Lance Stroll not getting down about 2017 so far

Lance Stroll says he is not getting down about the difficult start to his F1 career. The Canadian teen, already under pressure after a mistake-strewn winter and claims he is a 'pay driver', struggled in Australia and China as his race career kicked off with Williams.

And there was more trouble in Bahrain, when he called being taken out by Carlos Sainz during the race as "ridiculous". But before that, he said he was doing well last Sunday. "I lost a few positions at the start, but then I ran really well on the soft tyres," said the Canadian. "I even managed to do a few passes, even if it all came to nothing because of Sainz."

But he told the Canadian newspaper La Presse: "I console myself by telling myself that the season is still young, and that I still have many more opportunities to recover. I'm looking forward to taking my chance," the 18-year-old added.

Stroll is also under big pressure at Williams, where the midfield battle in the constructors' standings with Force India, Toro Rosso, Haas and Renault looks set to be intense. "I don't have as many concerns as you might imagine," deputy team boss Claire Williams said.

"I think Lance has really proved that he deserves the seat. We are going to give him the space he needs to grow but I don't actually doubt that he's going to be capable of scoring the points that we need him to." (GMM)