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Lance Stroll has played down the secrecy of his unprecedented private test programme as he prepares to debut in 2017. Stroll's billionaire father, Laurence, was key to getting his son a seat in Formula 1 for 2017.
When it was brought to him that his father's money was instrumental in allowing him a seat at Williams, Stroll admitted: "That was important, of course.
"Without him it would not have been possible. In this sport you need two things: talent and money. Others have sponsors but I have my father -- the money had to come from somewhere," said the 18-year-old.
Many experts believe that Stroll is far from a pay driver, as the Canadian won back-to-back junior series over the last three years, with the most prestigious being the Formula 3 European championship.
There have been suggestions that driver's who do not come from a background of money, such as Lewis Hamilton, are hungrier when it comes to chasing dreams in the sport. Stroll however, disagrees.
"I don't believe that," Stroll insisted. "No matter what I've done, I've always wanted to win. Once you're in the cockpit with the visor closed, it doesn't matter where you came from."
"People are looking more closely," he continued. "They want to know if I deserve the position I'm in. I'm grateful for the chances I've had but only I could win the championships I have -- you can't buy the super license points."
Stroll has been labelled as one of the most experienced rookie in terms of Formula 1 mileage, as the teen has been travelling worldwide driving Williams' 2014 car in preparation for the upcoming season.
"By Christmas I had done four two-day tests and a shakedown at Silverstone. Then Monza, Spielberg, Budapest, Barcelona and most recently in Abu Dhabi. Before the new season there will be a few outside of Europe but there is not yet the agreements with the circuits.
"I think Hamilton and Villeneuve did a lot of kilometres too," Stroll argued. "Everyone has their way of getting used to formula one. Valtteri (Bottas) did the Friday practice sessions."
Fergal Walsh
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i think its not good for the f1 to enter billionaire drivers, because they are already kind of successful so they are not as competitive as other drivers who came from a poorer background!!!