Aston Martin’s Otmar Szafnauer: “I want to pay tribute to two brilliant drives”

Otmar Szafnauer was full of praise for both Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel as they both finished inside the points in Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix, the first time since the French Grand Prix where both Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team drivers ended inside the top ten.

Stroll climbed from twelfth on the grid to finish an excellent sixth after running a one-stop strategy, while Vettel recovered from being pushed wide at turn one and dropping down to seventeenth to take tenth, also with only one trip to the pit lane.

Szafnauer, the CEO and Team Principal at Aston Martin, says it is a nice feeling for everyone within the team to see both drivers have strong performances at the Losail International Circuit and score nine points towards the Constructors’ Championship.

“That was a complex race from a technical point of view, and I want to pay tribute to two brilliant drives, particularly by Lance, who managed tyre wear and pressure from the Ferraris superbly to finish sixth under intense racing throughout all 57 laps,” said Szafnauer. “He was the star of our race today. 

“Sebastian was pushed wide at the start by [Valtteri] Bottas, and had to take to the artificial grass to avoid an accident, which dropped him back to P17, having started from a P10 grid slot. He drove hard and consistently well thereafter, ending up back in the points.

“Our tyre group and strategy team combined to do a fantastic job throughout, both here in Qatar and at Mission Control at the factory, and it is a great feeling for all of us to record our first double points finish since Paul Ricard in June.”