Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team’s Lance Stroll ended the year with one of his best results of the season, finishing in eighth place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Stroll was pleased with the result, gaining many positions from his starting place of fourteenth to take home a solid points finish.
“We had a competitive race with a good strategy today to round out the year. I am happy with the performance and the result: it was a great team effort.”
Aston Martin came extremely close to overtaking Alfa Romeo Racing in the constructors championship, ending up tied for points after Sunday’s result. Stroll said that the team put in the maximum to try and take sixth place, but they weren’t able to finish it off.
“It was a shame not to pass Alfa Romeo in the Constructors’ World Championship at the end. We gave it everything we could as the races ticked by and we were so close to jumping them today.”
Stroll said that the team’s efforts have been key in the progress they have made from a performance standpoint, allowing for more points opportunities in the back half of the season. He expects the gains they’ve made to be useful in the team’s preparation for 2023.
“The team here at the track and back at Silverstone did a really good job throughout the year to help us get much more out of the car in the second half of the season. We were able to fight for points on a much more regular basis recently and that progress is a good preparation for next year.”
“Seeing so many flags and so many smiling faces has been very, very special” – Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel’s final race in F1 saw him take one last points finish, crossing the line in tenth after taking on a tricky alternative tyre strategy. Despite all the excitement and celebration surrounding his farewell weekend, Vettel said that he was completely focused when it came to hitting the track and fighting for positions.
“I enjoyed the race this evening, but it was a shame that we could not quite get past Daniel [Ricciardo] at the end. The lead-up to the race was a bit different with so many tributes and activities on the grid, but once the lights went out it was full-on race mode.”
Vettel attempted a one-stop strategy, which ended up not being the competitive choice, with high tyre degradation causing him to struggle at the end of his first stint on mediums.
“It was not an easy race because it was a close call between a one-stop and two-stop strategy. On my car, we tried to make the one-stop work, but as the tyres were getting older it was quite challenging to hold on.”
Less than a second separated Vettel from Daniel Ricciardo as they crossed the line, with Vettel just missing out on ninth place– a point that would have been the difference between seventh place and sixth place for the team.
“It was nice to fight the last couple of laps with Daniel and to have us both finishing in the points, but we just missed out on moving up a place in the Constructors’ World Championship.
After two “great” years driving with Aston Martin, Vettel gave one last thank you for all the support he’s received from his fans, something that has brought him much happiness and will be missed as he goes into retirement.
“Overall, it has been a big and emotional weekend, so thank you to everybody for all the support. Seeing so many flags and so many smiling faces has been very, very special. I am sure I am going to miss it more than I understand right now.
“The past two years have been great for me personally so thank you for all the support – all the messages, the letters and all the love in general. I will miss that but it has been an absolute joy throughout my career so thank you all again.”
Credit: Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team