Otmar Szafnauer was pleased to see the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team represented inside the top ten in Qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday evening, but he was less than happy to have the other car eliminated in Q1.
Lance Stroll was Aston Martin’s sole representative in Q3, with the Canadian doing an impressive job in a AMR21 car the team are still learning about to get into the top ten. He will start tenth on the grid after having only one set of soft tyres to use in the top ten shootout.
New team-mate Sebastian Vettel was less fortunate, with the four-time World Champion finding himself eliminated after two separate yellow flags in sectors one and two meant he was always going to struggle. The German will start his first race with Aston Martin from eighteenth on the grid.
Szafnauer, the Team Principal and CEO of Aston Martin, says the team will be doing everything they can to score points with both drivers, although it is likely to be more difficult to do so with Vettel as low as he is on the grid.
“Lance performed well and did a good job to make it into Q3 today, while Sebastian’s result was out of his hands to a large extent,” said Szafnauer. “In Q3, our tyre strategy meant Lance was only able to run once, but tenth on the grid leaves him well placed for tomorrow and he will be in the hunt for points.
“Sebastian was unfortunate to come across two yellow flags on his final push lap, which ultimately cost him a place in Q2. Overtaking is possible here so we will try our best to use strategy to help Sebastian fight his way through the field tomorrow.”
