Stroll: Great to have chance of Daytona win, unlike F1

Lance Stroll is relishing the prospect of being able to fight for victory in this weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car race, having spent the last year racing in Formula 1 where the odds of winning are far slimmer.

Stroll, 18, made his F1 debut in Australia last year for Williams, and scored a surprise podium in Azerbaijan, but was otherwise unable to fight at the front of the order or battle for race wins given the performance differences through the field.

Stroll will make his second Daytona start on Saturday, having finished fifth on debut in 2016, and is excited by the prospect of being able to challenge for a win - something that is not possible for him in F1.

"It’s a whole different mindset. It’s great to be here and just to be here and have the hope of winning a race in the back of my mind," Stroll said.

"In F1 we see teams spending ridiculous amounts of money. That’s the sport. Some cars are two seconds quicker than other cars, but here you see a much closer deal and Balance of Performance, which is also cool.

"So there are some big differences between Formula 1, but it’s cool to change it up.

"But for sure Formula 1 is the priority, and that’s where the focus is."

Stroll will team up with Felix Rosenqvist, Daniel Juncadella and Robin Frijns in the #37 Jackie Chan DCR Jota entry, and with the experience of the race two years ago under his belt, he has set his sights on adding a Rolex Daytona watch awarded to the winners to his trophy cabinet.

"It’s great to be back at Daytona. I really enjoyed it a couple of years ago when I was here with Chip Ganassi, I’ve been wanting to come back for a second go," Stroll said.

"[Practice] was good, good to get back in the car after a few weeks off since we were here last at the Roar.

"Just like everyone else, I’ve been really looking forward to the race. It’s a long one, a lot can happen.

"I’m ready to win a watch."