MONZA, Italy -- Lance Stroll believes the wet weather conditions during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix allowed him to show more of his natural talent than at previous rounds.
Stroll was fourth fastest in qualifying but will start second on Sunday's grid once penalties for both Red Bull drivers have been applied, making him the youngest driver ever to start on the front row at a grand prix.
The 18-year-old made the switch from Formula 3 to F1 this year, and while he has struggled for results on occasion, he has also shown flashes of brilliance -- such as his podium at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Asked why he was able to extract more performance in the wet at Monza than during dry qualifying sessions earlier this year, Stroll said he could rely more on his natural driving style in the wet.
"What the tyre will allow me to do in the dry is not the same as in the wet," he explained. "In the wet it's very forgiving like Formula 3, you brake hard and you can carry a lot of speed and it accepts really anything -- wheelspin for example. But in the dry I'm still adapting my driving style to Formula One, which is not super natural, but in the wet today I drove naturally the way I would drive last year in the wet.
"All the time I would brake hard, carry speed into the corner and not think about the tyre giving up on me. But in the dry I'm still working on a few details even though it's getting much better. Today, I felt at one with the car and we did have a much more competitive car today than we have over the last few events since Baku. What's great is that we were really able to pull it all together at the end in Q3 and I don't really think I missed out anywhere looking back on my lap. I nailed it down pretty well."
When Williams technical director Paddy Lowe was asked to explain the sudden turn of pace, he said Stroll simply had the talent to make the most of the conditions.
"For me, qualifying in the wet is the most difficult test of a Formula One team, not just the driver but the whole team, because it's such a stressful situation with all the combinations that you've got to get right. In fact, the logistics of timing and making the right decision about tyres and then for the driver to deliver at the precise opportunity that emerges when you've got to set the pace.
"In that context, the team did a great job, Felipe did a great job and Lance did a really amazing job. He found the grip, the style that worked with the car and the grid and got the lap time. But I don't have any technical explanation for it other than he's got the talent to do that."