Stroll, 18, has spent 2016 as one of the Grove-based team’s development drivers, combining the role with a title-winning campaign in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship. He replaces Felipe Massa, who is retiring at the end of the current campaign. Bottas, meanwhile, will stay on at Williams for a fifth successive season, the Finn having made his debut with the team in 2013. Williams' announcement brings the number of unconfirmed seats for 2017 down to eight. Three teams - Haas, Sauber and Manor - are yet to confirm either driver, while Force India and Renault both have one vacancy.

Who is Lance Stroll? Born in Montreal, Canada in 1998, Stroll was bitten by the racing bug aged five when his father, eminent businessman and occasional amateur sportscar driver Lawrence Stroll, bought him a go-kart. He won his first race and championship three years later before being selected for Ferrari's prestigious Driver Academy in 2010 following more karting success. Stroll stepped up to single-seaters in 2014, competing in the Florida Winter Series before winning the Italian Formula 4 championship at his first attempt. Another title, in New Zealand’s Toyota Racing Series, followed in early 2015 before a learning year in European F3 in which he finished fifth with one win, but also had a couple of heavy crashes. There would be no such problems in the same series in 2016 as, newly hired by Williams as a development driver, he triumphantly claimed the title, picking up 14 victories, 20 podiums and 14 pole positions along the way.

Stroll, who is set to become the first Canadian to compete in F1 in over a decade, admitted 2017 will be a steep challenge - but one he feels ready for. "2017 is going to be a big learning curve for me, but I believe contesting the FIA European Formula 3 Championship for the past two years has prepared me well for the step up," he said. "I've been experiencing a 2014-spec Williams FW36 since August, which has gone very well. The power is incredible. I'm learning about the car, the incredible downforce, DRS and tyre management, finding a rhythm and finding the limit. I'm becoming more comfortable and confident with each run. "I'm eager to absorb everything Williams can share with me so that I improve. I'll be taking things on a race-by-race, lap-by-lap basis and hopefully progress with experience like I did when I entered Formula 4 and then Formula 3. I've enjoyed success in karting, F4, Toyota Racing Series and most recently F3 - winning every category I've competed in -so I believe I have earned a shot in F1." Bottas, meanwhile, said he has unfinished business with Williams - and believes the 2017 regulation changes offer a perfect opportunity for the team to surge up the competitive order once more.

I've enjoyed success in karting, F4, Toyota Racing Series and most recently F3 - winning every category I've competed in - so I believe I have earned a shot in F1 Lance Stroll