Canadian teenager Lance Stroll is set to be the youngest driver in Formula One next season after being confirmed in the Williams lineup.

Stroll, who is from Montreal, turned 18 last week and will replace the retiring Felipe Massa to team up with Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas. He will be the first Canadian on the grid since 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve left F1 a decade ago.

Stroll, who has yet to obtain his road licence, dominated this year's Formula Three championship, winning the series by more than 100 points.



“This year was a great year for me,” said Stroll. “This year was the best year of my career so far. I want to look at it like I'm starting at zero again. What happened this year, happened this year. I am going to have to learn a lot of new things for next season. I'm a rookie. I'm going to make mistakes. I am going to have to learn in many areas but I am looking very forward to that.”

He becomes the sport's youngest driver since Max Verstappen made his debut last year at 17.

"I can't thank Williams enough for showing faith in my ability," Stroll said Thursday. "Racing in F1 was something I dreamt about as a young kid. When I began karting seriously, F1 was then the ultimate goal and especially when I started racing cars in 2014."