Lance Stroll says he “proved a lot to myself” despite being disappointed by “missed opportunities” in 2020.
The young Canadian, as well as now-former teammate Sergio Perez, benefitted from a much-improved Racing Point car last season, which courted controversy due to its striking similarity to the 2019 Mercedes.
That allowed Stroll to overcome his qualifying weakness from the previous season, helping the often-criticised youngster to show the potential he’s always had.
“I think last year I proved a lot to myself mainly,” the 22-year-old told Motorsport.com last month.
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“I just answered a lot of questions to myself that I’ve been asking myself in the last few seasons up until I had the opportunity to sit in a car that really performs.
“Am I capable of delivering results? To finish up at the front? Am I capable of qualifying up at the front? You just don’t get those results.
“A lot of it also wasn’t all down to results, it was just like ‘what does a competitive car feel like?’ How much better is it?
“[I didn’t know] until I sat in last year’s car and I realised how much of a difference there was, and how much I could also build on my driving by being in a good car.
“One of the biggest advantages of being in a good car is what you can get out of yourself,” he noted.
“It gives you so much more confidence when driving the car. It allows you to attack the corners much harder and just push the car much harder.
“As drivers, that’s what we want to be able to do, and sometimes when you’re in a bad car, it takes away that confidence and that ability to push the car. That has a big impact on a driver.”
For much of the season, Racing Point enjoyed the third-fastest car but couldn’t capitalise on it, as they finished seven points behind McLaren in fourth.
“We had some good results: a few fourth places, a couple of podiums, a pole – that was one of the bigger highlights of the season. So it was a good year,” Stroll claimed.
“I think at the same time, though, it was a year of missed opportunity with the car we had. We had a very competitive car – but there were other factors.
“In the first half of the season, I was sitting fourth in the world championship with a good gap to the rest of the pack.
“Then after my puncture in Mugello, it was a bumpy ride in terms of points. A part of me is a little bit frustrated that in so many races, we kind of just had a bumpy ride, and it ran a little bit downhill since my previous podium in Monza.
“There was a lot of opportunity in some of those races. In Mugello, we were up for the podium there and we had the puncture. Then I got Covid and missed a race there [Nurburgring]. There’s been a few unfortunate other races where we just DNF’d, and didn’t score any points.
“So I do see some missed opportunity in the season in total. But, all in all, it was a very fun year as well. It was a good year and it was a fun year – just competing in a car that has been up at the front for most of the season. That’s been awesome.”
In 2021, Stroll certainly has his work cut out, going up against four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel at the rebranded Aston Martin squad.