Formula 1

“I’m pleased to come away with a point, but it is fair to say we wanted more” – Lance Stroll

3 Mins read
Credit : Aston Martin Cognizant Formula 1 Team

After having such high ambitions following a successful 2020, it is fair to say that the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula 1 Team will be disappointed with the performance of the car at the Bahrain Grand Prix

Following a poor pre-season testing, where Sebastian Vettel especially lost running time in the car that has suffered from the change in regulations to the floor, it is important that the Silverstone-based team recover their form that they displayed so often last season.

Lance Stroll was pleased to come home in tenth position, but coming into the weekend had hoped for more. The first half of the race was pretty strong for the Canadian, managing to make up some positions, the car felt good and he was able to engage in some good battles on the track.

“I’m pleased to come away with a point, but it is fair to say we wanted more from today. We had a strong first half of the race and we made up some positions. I felt comfortable in the car and we were racing hard against the cars around us.”

Towards the last half of the race the tyres started to wear out for the Canadian, despite this there are still positives to take away from the weekend and lessons learned from the first race of the year will help the British-based team in Grand Prix’s to come.

“We tailed off a little bit in the second half of the race on the hard tyres, but there are plenty of positives to take away. I enjoyed some good battles too, especially with Fernando (Alonso) early on.

We know there are some areas where we can improve and everything we have learned this weekend will help us in the races to come. We have a few weeks before the next race to work on those things.”

“Even though it has not been the best weekend, we have continued learning together” – Sebastian Vettel

It would be fair to say that Sebastian Vettel’s first weekend in an Aston Martin Formula 1 Car was not quite the dream one that he imagined when he signed the contract to join the team at the Tuscan Grand Prix last year. Despite limited running time and suffering a crash in the Grand Prix itself, Vettel believes that this is all a learning process.

Sebastian Vettel believes that the race was a tricky one, after starting at the back of the grid due to not backing off in yellow flags, the team and himself tried to do something different with the strategy – attempting a one stop instead of the conventional two stop but by the end of the race the tyres had hit the cliff and it was very hard for Sebastian Vettel to drive.

“It was quite a tricky race. We tried to do something different with the strategy – by stopping only once – but it did not pay off in the end. I think we made the right decision to try it, but by the end of the race my tyres were falling off the cliff.”

The start of the race was especially strong for Vettel, making up six positions on lap one but after this initial success, it was not easy to make more progress up the field. After picking up a minor flat-spot on the tyres the first stint had to be extended in order to make the one-stop strategy work but sadly for the German driver it just wasn’t possible to score points.

“The start of the race was strong: I made a good start and I was well positioned after lap one. But it was not easy to make progress after that. I picked up a small flat spot and we had to extend the first stint to try and make the one-stop strategy work. In the end, it just wasn’t possible to score points today.”

Even though his debut may not have been the most successful one, Vettel will continue to learn and understand where he can improve. There is definitely potential in the car according to the German driver and hopefully they can make a step forward to re-join the front of the midfield like they experienced in 2020.

“Even though it has not been the best weekend, we have continued learning together and understanding where we can improve. There is definitely the potential to take some good steps forward in the races to come.”

Image Credit : Aston Martin Cognizant Formula 1 Team
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