F1: Who Is Lance Stroll, 'Worst Rookie Ever' Turned Azerbaijan Grand Prix Podium Finisher?

In a crazy Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Lance Stroll may have provided the zaniest result.

Stroll, the 18-year-old Canadian who drives for Williams, gained a reputation for crashing in his rookie season. Worse, he seemed flippant about it. The son of billionaire investor Lawrence blamed his crash at the Monaco Grand Prix in May on failing to learn from his mistakes on the PlayStation.

"It really p***** me off, because every time I play the PlayStation game, it's always those corners that I can't get right, and in reality it's still those two corners," Stroll said. Three of his first five races in Formula One ended in retirements.

In Baku on Sunday, Stroll emerged from a race that resembled a videogame intact, as the second-youngest rookie ever to make the podium in a Grand Prix.

Three safety cars and a red flag gave an opportunity for the slower cars and teams to score points, with title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel engaged in a running battle that likely has more episodes to run. Hamilton appeared to stop in front of Vettel, causing a collision, before the German drove up alongside Hamilton and swerved back into him.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo picked his way through the chaos from 17th on the grid to finish ahead of Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and Stroll in third.

While Stroll may have benefited from a stop-start race, he has also been improving. This month he took his first points in Formula One, with ninth at his home Canadian Grand Prix.

"It was such an intense race, a crazy race, and so much happened, the red flag and hopping out the car and hopping back in and having to reset. It happened so quickly," the European Formula 3 champion told Motorsport.com after the race.

Jacques Villeneuve, the great Canadian winner of the 1997 F1 World Championship, had suggested Stroll might be one of F1's "worst rookies in history" - even after he took points in Montreal.

No Canadian had taken points in a Grand Prix between Villeneuve in Germany in 2001 and Stroll on Sunday. Stroll is likely never going to reach Villeneuve's heights. But the boy with the silver spoon has mettle to go with his privilege.

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