Sebastian Vettel: “It is nice to get off the mark and get points in the bag”

Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team’s, Sebastian Vettel, finished eighth at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, earning his first points of the season. Benefitting from an eventful opening lap, Vettel was able to move from thirteenth up to ninth soon after lights out. The Four-Time World Champion went on to secure a points finish with a solid drive. 

The German driver said that several factors played into the team’s season-best result in Imola, from the weather conditions to a solid tyre-strategy. 

“The team did really well today and we maximised everything to finish P8. It is an important result for the team because they have worked so hard in a challenging season so far. It is clear that we benefitted from the cooler and damp conditions on Friday and Sunday, but we still needed to capitalise on the opportunities that came our way. We also achieved that through good strategy, making our pit-stop for dry tyres at the right moment.”

With the team still struggling to find pace in their 2022 contender, Vettel said that tyre management was key to their successful result. Having added the first points to the tally, he now shifts his focus to the upcoming Miami Grand Prix.

“We may not have had the pure pace in this race, but we managed the tyres well and we got both cars into the points. It is nice to get off the mark and get points in the bag and now we are looking forward to Miami.”

“I am happy that we performed better this weekend and made the most of the opportunities that came our way” – Lance Stroll

Rounding out a double-points finish for Aston Martin, Lance Stroll locked in his first point of the season in Imola. Like his teammate, Stroll had a likewise advantageous start, and was ultimately able to turn his fifteenth-place grid position to a tenth-place finish in spite of continuous pressure from his competitors throughout the race. 

“It has been a positive weekend for the team and it is great to see both cars in the points. It was a well-earned point for us today because there was intense pressure throughout the race, not to mention the changeable weather conditions. At the beginning of the race, we performed strongly.

“Everyone was battling overheating tyres and a drying track, but we kept [Lewis] Hamilton behind and pressured [Yuki] Tsunoda ahead. Once we switched to the Medium tyre, we continued to show good pace and pulled away from the train of cars behind us.”

Stroll was pleased to see an improvement in the team’s performance, with the cooler conditions appearing to play a role in their success. The Canadian is striving for more points finishes in the race weekends ahead. 

“I am happy that we performed better this weekend and made the most of the opportunities that came our way. Qualifying and the race were in cooler and wet conditions, which may have suited us. We will enjoy today but will continue to keep pushing for more in the coming races.”

Credit: Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team