Lance Stroll has labelled his first podium in Formula One as a "dream come true" and was "left for words" following a crazy Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Canadian rookie -- in just the eighth race of his F1 career -- had been running within the top ten during the early stages, before he benefited from a collision between the Force India's of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon, with resulting debris also damaging Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari.
Following a 20-minute red-flag stoppage, Stroll found himself in fourth when Williams teammate Felipe Massa retired with a broken rear damper. Fourth soon turned into third when Lewis Hamilton was forced to make an unscheduled pit-stop for a loose headrest. A 10s stop-go penalty for Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel promoted Stroll further up the order to second, a position he would remain in until the last few seconds of the race, when he was dramatically pipped to the line by Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas, who snatched second at the death.
"I'm just lost for words right now," Stroll said after the race. "I don't even know what to say. I can't quite realise what just happened. It was a hectic race, people crashing and we stayed out of trouble. I kept my head cool and took it to the end.
"I lost out to Valtteri in the end, I reckon that was probably one of the closest finishes of all time. We were side-by-side across the finish line but what a race. I couldn't believe coming into the weekend that I would be standing on the podium, it's so amazing."
Stroll dedicated his podium finish to his Williams team, admitting the result was a big relief after enduring a difficult start to life in F1.
"This is for the whole team -- It's amazing. Motorsport is a love-hate relationship and we had a couple of hard races but the last two races have been amazing and I'm just over the moon. It's a dream come true, you dream of being on an F1 podium as a kid, you work towards it your whole life and you finally feel the moment. I think it's going to sink in tomorrow morning."