Stroll beats Verstappen's youngest-ever front-row F1 start record
Williams rookie Lance Stroll will become the youngest-ever front-row F1 starter in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza, and says breaking another record “feels good”.
Stroll – who became the youngest-ever podium finisher in Baku this year – was strong throughout the qualifying sessions, and was fourth fastest when it mattered in Q3.
With Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo taking grid penalties, Stroll is elevated to the front row and will start alongside Lewis Hamilton, who also broke the record for all-time pole positions.
Stroll beats the record of youngest front-row starter Max Verstappen by 23 days from last year's Belgian Grand Prix.
"It's a couple of 'youngest-evers' this season now, so it feels good," said Stroll. "[The] podium at Baku was great, and now starting on the front row here in Monza is great. Just keep it going."
About his qualifying session, Stroll added: "I just put it together there at the end. Throughout the whole sessions I knew we were competitive, I had an idea where the best grip was under braking and the high-speed corners, Lesmo 1 and 2.
"I just built up to it throughout the sessions, and in Q3 I put it all together and it worked out."
Stroll believes that the recent qualifying woes for Williams spurred him on, as rain levelled the playing field in terms of his team's lack of downforce.
"We know it's been really difficult in the last few races, easy to make mistakes because we're almost over-pushing the car, knowing it's tricky for us to get out of Q1 sometimes," he said.
"Today, everything was under control and we were able to go from the back of the grid to the front today."
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