Lance Stroll will become Formula 1's youngest driver to start on the front-row when he lines up in his grid slot for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, after qualifying in fourth place before penalties promote him to second.
The Williams driver mastered the tricky wet conditions during qualifying to finish just three-tenths down on Max Verstappen in second place, but penalties for both Red Bull drivers sees Stroll join Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton on the front-row, which he described as a "great" feeling.
"It feels great. I didn't expect that coming into today, but racing is full of surprises and you never know what will happen," said the 18-year-old, who beats Max Verstappen to the record by 23 days after the Dutchman's second place start in Belgium last year.
"They were difficult conditions out there, but we really handled it well as a team and pulled it off. I felt confident, felt good with the car and put it all together."
Stroll says he will approach the race the same way he has all season and isn't thinking too much about his starting position.
"Tomorrow is the race and that is where it counts, and I am just going to run my race like I always do.
"I am starting from a bit of a different position, but anything can happen and we have just got to be on top of our game tomorrow.
"The car just seems more competitive this weekend. I know the conditions weren’t really normal. We expected coming into this weekend with more straights and less high speed corners we would be a bit more competitive and it just seems to be that way."
