“It was exciting to be in a battle from the first lap until the end” – Lance Stroll

Sunday’s Styrian Grand Prix brought an end to another strong weekend for Lance Stroll, who after starting ninth battled hard throughout the race to finish eighth. Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team team-mate Sebastian Vettel finished twelfth.

Stroll was strong throughout the grand prix, the Canadian had an almost race long battle with veteran Fernando Alonso and also fought with both Scuderia Ferrari’s at times. The Ferrari’s were unfortunately just too quick for Stroll to keep behind, however the Canadian did finish ahead of Alonso.

He also did well to avoid opening lap contact between Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc, whilst all three of them went side-by-side on the run up to turn three.

Eighth is possibly the best result Stroll could’ve gotten from the race, he does get another chance to achieve higher though at the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend, the second of two races from the Red Bull Ring.

“We were racing well inside the points throughout the race and it was exciting to be in a battle from the first lap until the end. We made a strong start and ran in the pack with Fernando [Alonso], Charles [Leclerc] and Pierre [Gasly]. There was a little bit of contact ahead, which helped us gain some places, and I managed to overtake Fernando to move into sixth.

“He was always close in the race, so it was maximum attack from there to the end. It was a fun battle throughout the race. We tried to hold off Carlos [Sainz] and Charles but they had strong pace in the final part of the race and a tyre advantage. So P8 is a good result and we can be happy with a positive weekend from the very first lap on Friday. We are racing here again next weekend, so we will go away and understand where we can find gains to be even stronger next weekend.”

“It was a tough race today” – Sebastian Vettel

It was a difficult grand prix for Sebastian Vettel, the German who started in fourteenth was in a battle for a points finish virtually the entire grand prix. The midfield was running incredibly close around one of the shortest and fastest circuits on the calendar.

Come the end of the race Vettel was struggling too much for grip, denting his hopes of making it a double points finish for the team, twelfth was the best the four-time world champion could manage. He will hope for better at this weekends Austrian Grand Prix.

“It was a tough race today. The midfield was very close and we were in the battle for points for the majority of the race. However, we spent a lot of time in traffic and I was struggling for grip towards the end. When everyone is so closely matched, these factors can really impact your race and the final result.

“It is always very easy to say we should have done things differently in hindsight, but we are focused on coming back stronger next weekend. The tyres are one step softer for the Austrian Grand Prix, for example, so there is plenty of preparation work ahead in the coming days.”

Credit: Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team