Official: Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll with Williams in 2017

We were only waiting for the official confirmation, and it came this morning. Williams will field Valtteri Bottas and young Lance Stroll for the 2017 season.

The next season will be very important for Williams as it will mark the anniversary of its 40th year in Formula 1. The car fielded in 2017 will be named the FW40 to honor this event.

I am delighted to confirm that Valtteri will be with Williams again next year, and he will be joined by Lance Stroll. Valtteri is a beloved member of the team and his talent is undeniable; it will be up to him to use this experience to help lead the team forward. He has played a crucial role in the team’s turnaround since 2014, and we look forward to continuing the strong relationship we have with him in the future. Lance joined the Williams young driver program at the end of 2015 and has impressed our engineers with his maturity, talent, and enthusiasm. We are pleased to be able to offer him the opportunity to step up and show what he can do in Formula 1, after proving his dominance in all categories. He is still young, and we look forward to seeing him develop as a driver. commented Claire Williams.

Valtteri Bottas will therefore begin his fifth season as a full-time driver. Currently seventh in the World Drivers’ Championship standings, he hopes to achieve his first victory in the discipline with the Grove team: « It’s going to be an exciting year with all the regulatory changes and a great opportunity for the team to get closer to the front. I will give 100%, as always, to the team. Thank you to Frank, Claire, and the entire Williams team for their trust. »

On his side, Canadian Lance Stroll, only 18 years old, will be making his grand debut in Formula 1. The announcement was only made today because the team was in a complex legal situation: its title sponsor is Martini, an alcohol brand. Therefore, they were not able to announce the young driver’s arrival before his 18th birthday, which is October 29th.

Being in Formula 1 in 2017 is incredible, I can’t thank Williams enough for showing faith in my ability. Racing in F1 was something I dreamed of as a child. When I started karting seriously, F1 became the ultimate goal, especially when I began car racing in 2014. 2017 is going to be a great learning curve for me, but I’m eager to learn everything Williams can share with me to improve. I’ll take things race by race, lap by lap, and we hope to progress with experience as I did when I entered Formula 4 and Formula 3, Stroll noted.

If the season that just passed is to be credited to the young Canadian (14 victories in 30 races), the financial support provided by his father, Lawrence, is obviously a factor that weighed heavily in the team’s decision. This process was initiated at the end of last year when he decided to leave Ferrari’s development program to join Williams’. This allowed the young driver to conduct numerous tests in a 2014 car of the team to get accustomed to driving a hybrid Formula 1.

Click this link to read our full statement on our 2017 driver line up #WeAreRacing #F1 https://t.co/Gk0Jmse2ae pic.twitter.com/iWfZWXekWI

— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) 3 novembre /f1/actualite/21506-williams-fetera-ses-40-ans-de-presence-en-f1-en-2017-avec-la-fw40.html