Lawrence Stroll’s father and boss say the under-fire 18-year-old has now proven he deserves to be in formula one.
After qualifying ten places behind teammate Felipe Massa ahead of his seventh race of his young career, Stroll was given the label of perhaps the worst rookie in F1 history by Jacques Villeneuve.
But he then scored his first points on Sunday.
Stroll’s father and sponsor, the billionaire fashion mogul Lawrence Stroll, said he "couldn’t be prouder" of his son.
"He has just done his seventh race in F1, so everyone has to be patient," he told Le Journal de Montreal.
"I think my son is where he should be right now. You saw the races just as I did, and you know that he had some bad luck.
"But he did an extraordinary race here," said Stroll snr in his native Montreal.
Importantly, Lawrence Stroll’s sentiments about the struggling youngster were backed by his team boss, Claire Williams.
"The most important thing is that he did it himself," she told La Presse newspaper. "It was not a result by default but because of several overtakes.
"The skills he demonstrated did not look like a rookie. He has proved he deserves his place in F1 and silenced his detractors," deputy team chief Williams added.