Lance Stroll said his lap times around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit looked and felt good on Friday, and the Canadian goes into the rest of the weekend with confidence.
The Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team driver placed inside the top five in both sessions in Belgium on Friday, ending fifth in the opening session and fourth in the second.
Stroll felt confident on all three of Pirelli’s tyre compound choices for this weekend and hopes the form he showed on Friday can translate into a strong performance on both Saturday and Sunday to hopefully bring him a decent haul of points.
“It felt good out there today and the lap-times looked good as well,” said Stroll. “We tried all the tyre compounds, and the performance felt decent across all three.
“We do not know what the weather will bring tomorrow, so it is really tricky to figure out where we will be when qualifying comes around, but I am hopeful we will be in the mix for some good points this weekend.”
“I am pretty sure tomorrow will be better” – Sebastian Vettel
Team-mate Sebastian Vettel admitted it is always good to drive around Spa-Francorchamps, although the German struggled to find the same kind of pace and performance as Stroll in the other car.
Vettel, who will retire from the FIA Formula 1 World Championship at the end of the season, was only fifteenth fastest in both sessions on Friday, but despite lacking the pace, he remains confident that the speed will come when it matters across the remainder of the weekend.
“It is always great to drive at Spa – even in today’s changeable conditions,” said Vettel. “I struggled a little bit in the second session – I did not really feel very confident with the car – but I am pretty sure tomorrow will be better.
“The sessions were mostly dry, but it was more about trying to find a feel with the car today. We will have a proper look at the data tonight and I am sure we will take a step forward for tomorrow.”
Sebastian Vettel was fifteenth in both session on Friday – Credit: Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team