Lance Stroll: “We had a great first lap today that set us up to have a great race”

Lance Stroll took his fourth top ten finish of the season in Sunday’s French Grand Prix, and he says his first lap at the Circuit Paul Ricard helped set up his race.

The Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team driver was able to jump a few places on the opening lap and he said he knew a good start would be important if he was to be a points contender in France.

Stroll, who now has four tenth place finishes in 2022, felt he had the pace to close on McLaren F1 Team’s Daniel Ricciardo in the closing stages on Sunday, but he was left ultimately to defend from team-mate Sebastian Vettel at the end.

“We had a great first lap today that set us up to have a great race,” said Stroll.  “I nearly got [Esteban] Ocon in Turn Nine as well, but it was important to have such a good start.

“I felt I had some momentum in the closing stages to possibly catch [Daniel] Ricciardo. We are continuing our trend of being more competitive on a Sunday so today is a good platform as the summer break approaches.

“I had a snap on the exit on the last lap because I was struggling with my tyres at the very end. It was a good fight with Sebastian, but the most important thing was to bring a point home for the team today.”

“It is clear that we need more grip” – Sebastian Vettel

Team-mate Vettel felt he had a chance of passing Stroll at the end, but ultimately it was a frustrating day for the four-time World Champion who found himself stuck in traffic all afternoon long.

Vettel was struggling with grip throughout and was left with too much work to do to get into the points at the end, although he believed he had a chance of snatching the point away from Stroll on the final lap.

“My afternoon was frustrating,” said Vettel.  “I was stuck in traffic for the whole race – but you expect that when you start in the midfield. And, with the strategy, I do not think there was really much more the team could have done there.

“It is clear that we need more grip. In the race, things were not too bad – the cars ahead of us were not disappearing – and we also understand the car a little bit more after this weekend.

“I had a chance to pass Lance on the final lap; I was a little bit faster but we are not fighting over one point – it is the same net result for the team. It does not make any difference.”

Sebastian Vettel ended eleventh in France – Credit: Octane Photographic Ltd