“It is a shame to miss Q3 by small margin” – Sebastian Vettel

Both Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team drivers narrowly missed out on final qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix, with Sebastian Vettel qualifying eleventh and Lance Stroll twelfth for Saturday’s sprint qualifying. The team have also been fined €5000 for an unsafe release in the pit-lane during second qualifying to add to their disappointment.

In traditional fashion at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, it was a very messy qualifying with the majority of the grid looking for a tow. Vettel only just missed out on a spot in the top ten by three hundredths of a second, the German blamed his middle sector as the reason why he failed to make it to final qualifying.

Nevertheless eleventh is still a strong position for the four-time world champion to be starting, especially with the uncertainty of what will unfold during sprint qualifying and having shown strong pace in opening practice in sixth.

“It was very busy on track with everybody trying to find a tow and in the end we just missed out on making Q3 by three hundredths. I was happy with my lap in Q2: it was a good lap, but it could have been a little cleaner in the middle sector. It is a shame to miss Q3 by a small margin, but I still believe we can make up ground tomorrow to be in a stronger position for Sunday when it matters most.”

“It is a pity to have narrowly missed out on Q3” – Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll too narrowly missed out on a spot in the top ten and will start alongside his team-mate on the sixth row for Saturday’s sprint qualifying.

Similar to Vettel however, Stroll showed good pace in Friday’s opening free practice session and ended the morning in fourth. This bodes well for the Canadian who will be hoping to finish sprint qualifying in the top ten, giving him the best chance of a good points haul on Sunday.

“It is a pity to have narrowly missed out on Q3. It was a solid effort by the team and we were able to get in some good laps despite the challenges Monza always throws up in qualifying. Traffic was an issue for everyone and it was difficult to find good tows. While it is disappointing not to have made Q3, tomorrow’s Sprint race should give us the opportunities to gain places and start Sunday’s race inside the top ten.”

Credit: Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team