I am switching my Formula One focus away from the star performers to the also-rans, the no-hopers, call them what you may, who make up the grand prix numbers, but who are no less essential to the spectacle than the regular winners.

Their underwhelming and under-achieving presence fails to overshadow their hopes and dreams, not necessarily of victory or even a podium, but of putting on a fighting show to appear to be a fast rising star eager to pull clear of the backmarkers and only eager to give it their all right on the edge.

And that brings me to Lance Stroll, the newcomer-cum-learner in his debut season with Williams-Mercedes, historic backers and transporters of champions galore over decades of relentless effort — but right now strugglers at the wrong end of the championship chase.

Their car No. 18 is currently carrying teenager Stroll, who will come under as much scrutiny as he can endure at the utterly spotlighted upcoming Monaco Grand Prix, the slowest track of them all, but, equally, probably the most difficult and perilous for the champions as it is for the hopefuls way down the order.

It will be Stroll’s sixth GP — and his non-finishes and mishaps, with brake failure in Australia and costly crashes in Bahrain and China, with a last place in Spain, only boosted by a breakthrough 11th place in Russia after surviving a first-lap spin, have left him under intense pressure.

The 18-year-old’s career in F1 is all due to the bank rolling blessing of his mind-blowingly wealthy father, a treble dollar billionaire and fashion mogul who amassed his wealth through his connections with worldwide style giants Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Pierre Cardin and Michael Kors. That support is further solidified by his mother, Claire, a Belgian-born fashion designer.

The Canadian father’s fervour for F1 encouraged him to sponsor Lotus before they pulled out of racing — but then the birth of his son fired him to fashion a race career for his offspring long before he was out of his pram. After being groomed in karts, Lance was dispatched to the Ferrari Academy — and along the way developed into a skilled, if sometimes reckless, driver with huge success in the Italian F4 class, where he reigned as 2014 champion, then clinched the Toyota Racing Series title a year later, and with an impressive 11 victories was crowned the European F3 king in 2016.

The father’s trust in his talented son’s burgeoning ability triggered astounding financial commitment — and 57-year-old Lawrence, I’m told, set about easing Lance onto the grand prix scene with Williams-Mercedes with an outlay … get this … of around $100m (Dh367.2 million).

He has “gifted” Williams $50m to buy Lance a seat alongside veteran Felipe Massa — and in the build-up to that outlay — no doubt keenly welcomed at Williams — and his son’s immediate future with the UK-based outfit the doting dad spent another $20m sending the budding newcomer on a series of private and secret track test sessions at Silverstone, scene of the British GP, Hungary, Monza, Austria, Barcelona, Abu Dhabi, Austin, in the US, and Sochi, accompanied by a carefully recruited 20-strong team of engineers, five of them specialists on Mercedes engines.

And when young Stroll joined Williams, Lawrence organised and paid for a brand new, high-tech simulator to be set up at HQ, exclusively for Lance’s use. Astonishing stuff. All of it.

So what does the boy say?

“In motorsport money is important — so I am very happy that my father helps me.”

And Mr Stroll senior adds: “I am only too happy and ready to give Lance all the backing I can for him to be a success, maybe even the champion, in Formula One. I am in the very fortunate position to be able to do just that. Now it is up to him.”

Williams technical chief Paddy Lowe, the astute mastermind behind several world champions in the past, is cautious in his summing up of F1’s new boy.

“He is a driver carrying a lot of expectation,” he says, “not only from people close to him, like us in the team and his parents, but right across the paddock. There is a lot of the spotlight on him and how he got to this level in F1.

“And the question asked is: does he really deserve the drive he’s got? Well, there are no easy answers for him under the tremendous pressure he is facing. But we are all trying to help him through that pressure because we all appreciate the challenging position he faces. But we know he is capable and competent. A natural. And in time it will show.”

The feeling of confidence in Stroll is underpinned by team principal Claire Williams, daughter of the esteemed Sir Frank who selflessly helped countless ambitious and starter drivers along the road to world title glory.

“It is really tough for drivers like him to step up from the junior classes to Formula One — and people can underestimate what pressure these guys like Lance put themselves under,” she says. And she adds: “We should remember he is only 18. He needs a bit of space, a bit of headroom, just to be able to go out and do what I think we all know … that he is fully capable of doing okay once that pressure has eased. He will, we are all sure, go great guns.

“We at Williams have been in racing for 40 years and we know how to help and nurture young talent into championship material. And that is our intention with Lance. We are confident we will see a return for all our endeavours. Monaco will be a really difficult test for him. But he is keen to give it his all.”

The nearby Cannes Film Festival could not have shown a possibly traumatic and certainly as dramatic an episode as will be staged on Sunday week when Lance Stroll, merely a bit part player in the big show, stages what he dreams will be a breakthrough to underline his promise and the widespread faith in his talent — and give full value for his father’s fortune of an outlay. Merely for him to finish the 190-mile, helter-skelter challenge will be a triumph beyond measure.

Or will he go from riches to rags?

— The author is an expert on motorsport