Stroll admits he needs to up qualy game

Lance Stroll concedes that he needs to improve his qualifying performances next season, saying he still needs to get himself "in the zone" over one lap.

The Williams driver had a difficult start to life in Formula 1 as he suffered four retirements in his first six races, but he then shocked everyone with a podium finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

His form picked up after the Baku race and he eventually only finished three points behind team-mate Felipe Massa in the standings.

However, it was one-way traffic in qualifying as Massa won their head-to-head 17-2.

His best qualy display was a P4 at the Italian GP and the Canadian admits it is something he needs to work on.

"Qualifying is not my strongest point," he told Autosport.

"I have had some tricky qualifying sessions but also some unlucky qualifying sessions like Suzuka, I had a red flag and got blocked so I don't count that.

"It hasn't been as strong as my race pace because I'm still not where I want to be with the car and myself over one lap.

"I just feel like I'm still trying to understand the tyre, the car, and just get myself in the zone.

"But last time I checked, there is no reward for qualifying. Points are in the race.

"It's a big part of the weekend, it helps you score points but I've scored points."

Stroll, though, feels everything usually comes together once the lights go out on a Sunday.

"In the race, I really feel like I'm on top of everything, I'm really good at tyre management and I'm just really happy with the balance of the car in the race," he said.

"I feel like I can just control the race really well."