“We go home encouraged by the burgeoning pace of our car” – Mike Krack

The Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team scored only a solitary point in Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix thanks to Lance Stroll finishing tenth, but Team Principal Mike Krack says that does not tell the whole story.

Stroll started down in seventeenth at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, just behind team-mate Sebastian Vettel after both drivers struggled in the wet conditions on Saturday, but the pace of the AMR22 in drier conditions was much stronger.

Vettel may have got the raw deal when it came to strategy – he pitted not long before a virtual safety car gave others a cheaper stop – but Stroll performed well to climb through the order and bring the team home a point.  He was helped in the closing stages by Vettel, who let the Canadian through to attack Daniel Ricciardo for the final point.

Krack says the team had good pace in Canada, and despite only scoring one point, they can leave North America with their heads held high and with confidence for the next few races.

“On paper, tenth position for Lance feels like scant reward for a long, hard weekend and a race that was tricky to manage from start to finish,” said Krack.  

“But that point does not tell the whole story: Lance drove patiently, managing an extremely long first stint on the Hard tyre to keep a train of cars behind him. He was unleashed at the end and deserved that final point – helped in part by Sebastian, who graciously moved aside to let him attack Daniel.

“Sebastian also drove a fine, measured race. Starting towards the back stacks things against you, and his strategy was not helped by the pair of VSCs in the early laps, but, ultimately, I think we worked well as a team today.

“We got the best out of a tricky set of strategic options, executed some solid pit-stops and we go home encouraged by the burgeoning pace of our car.”