Williams keen on retaining Lance Stroll

Williams maintains they are looking to re-sign Lance Stroll beyond the 2018 season. Speaking on Friday in the team personnel press conference, Williams technical chief Paddy Lowe reiterated the teams desire to retain Stroll past the current year.

It hasn't been the 2018 season Williams would have been hoping for, a strong result in Baku for Stroll saw him score the teams' only points of the season with an eighth-place finish.

Other than that single high point, it has been a tale of miscalculation and underperformance from the Grove-based outfit. Despite their struggles though, they believe they have the right driver in Stroll for the future.

Asked during the press conference whether or not he was worried about recent speculation linking Stroll with a potential Force India seat, Lowe dismissed the rumours saying he believed that Stroll would be staying with Williams.

"I’m not worrying about it. It’s that type of time in the season when there are lots of stories around the media about drivers doing this or that," he said.

"As far as I’m concerned we’re working very much in the present with Lance. It’s true he hasn’t committed for next year. We haven’t committed to him either, so that is an open point. Where it lands, who knows.

"We would love to stay with Lance, and that’s our assumption at the moment."

Stroll himself said on Thursday that he himself didn't know where he saw himself beyond the current season.

"I don’t know yet what I am doing, where my future is going," Stroll said. "I am still focused on where I am right now and what I am doing today. We will see what the future holds.

"I would like to see us improve and get to where we want as a team. I also want to do what is best for me as a driver.

"So we will come to all the conclusions at the right time, and figure out what is best for the future."