Canadian and Ferrari protege Lance Stroll had an up and down day in Race 1, and 2 of Round 7 of the FIA European Formula 3 Championship in Zandvoort, Netherlands.

Stroll who started sixth for Race 1, had a brilliant race, finishing fourth for the Prema Powerteam.

The 16-year-old had a great start to the race. Zandvoort, which is a tough track to pass on, saw Stroll overtake teammate Jake Dennis heading into Tarzan corner. On the exit the Montreal native muscled his way past championship points-leader Charles Leclerc for fourth place and proceeded to open up a healthy gap.

Up at the front Antonio Giovinazzi - who was starting on his first pole of the season - dueled with Stroll’s Prema Powerteam teammate Felix Rosenqvist for most of the race. Both drivers pulled clear from the rest of the field, finishing first, and second.

Stroll was the highest placed rookie was able to stand on the podium and hear his national anthem play loudly

“I got 2 positions at the first corner. In the end I’m happy with first place among rookies and fourth overall,” Stroll aid via his team’s Twitter account.

It wasn’t all good fortune for the young Canadian.

Race 2 was a different story for Stroll, who started fifth on the grid. He has been heavily criticized for causing a few racing incidents this season, even serving a one race ban at Round 5 at Spa, was again involved in another incident.   

Stroll again had another great start off the line and on his approach to Tarzan Corner he tried to avoid Markus Pommer who was squeezing the Canadian towards the wall. He ended up crashing heavily into Leclerc who was in Stroll’s blind spot.

“The start of Race 2 I was forced to the inside” said Stroll. “The contact with Leclerc became inevitable and I had to retire.”

“At first I was really angry with Lance,” Leclerc told Autosport.com, “but then I saw the video. It looks more the fault of Pommer, who moved to the right.”

Further up front the battle between Giovinazzi and Rosenqvist continued, this time with Rosenqvist coming out on top taking the victory. Giovinazzi came home second and with his first- and second-place finishes has cut down Leclerc’s lead in the championship to just nine and a half points.

Race 3 will be held Sunday, with Stroll starting fifth.

FIA European Formula 3 is an open-wheel formula racing series held across Europe. The season is broken down into 11 rounds, with each round consisting of a three race weekend.

F3 is a feeder series into Formula 1, and has produced drivers like four-time F1 world champion and current Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel. Double world champion Lewis Hamilton is also a graduate.

Stroll sits ninth in the driver championship standings.