For the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team and four time world champion Sebastian Vettel it was a Monaco Grand Prix to remember, as the experienced German drove like a champion to finish in fifth-place.
The entire Monaco weekend had been a success for Vettel, after qualifying in eighth place the German was in a prime position to capitalise on those around him in the race, something he expertly did. In the first phase of the Grand Prix Vettel did well to keep in touching distance of Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly, close enough to be able to gamble an overcut.
Vettel pitted two laps after the two drivers and drove the wheels off the Aston Martin, using every ounce of grip left on the soft tyres. This saw him complete what was a double overcut on both Hamilton and Gasly. Vettel so nearly came out behind Gasly, the two drivers drag raced up the hill in what was the most exciting moment of the Grand Prix, even though the TV director cut away from the epic dual at the most crucial moment!
Gasly had to come off the throttle allowing Vettel ahead, to eventually cruise to his best finish for the Aston Martin team so far this season, in what was his best drive in a very long time.
“I am happy with fifth place today and it is great for the team to have both cars inside the points,” said Vettel. “This result is down to great decision-making on the pit wall and having good pace in the car when it mattered. I knew that the two laps before my pit stop would be crucial to our race, and I was able to put in some good lap times on tyres that were past their best, and that made the difference [gaining two places by the overcut].
“It was very tight when I came out of the pit lane because I knew [Pierre] Gasly was very close. It is not easy racing wheel-to-wheel up the hill to Casino Square, but we won the drag race, and he had to back out of it. Street circuits can always throw up the unexpected, and we rose to the challenge today.”
“We executed a great strategy” – Lance Stroll
It was double delight for the Aston Martin side as Lance Stroll also finished in the points, a great strategy by the team which saw Stroll run deep into the race on the hard compound tyres, put him in the position to finish in eighth-place after starting a disappointing thirteenth.
It was a great recovery drive from the Canadian, who extended his first stint enough so he was able to jump both Esteban Ocon and Antonio Giovinazzi for that eighth place, with both drivers being left behind as the Alpine F1 Team driver struggled for pace around the streets of Monaco.
“Both cars scoring points in Monaco is a good day for the team,” said Stroll. “We executed a great strategy and picked up some deserved points for our hard work. It was not easy to race on the hard tyre in the first stint, especially at the start, but I was able to launch well off the line.”
“That gave us a platform for the rest of the race, which came to life late in the stint as we pushed to make the overcut viable or be ready in case the Safety Car came out. We gained three places through the overcut in the end and had strong pace to the end, too. We are still learning every race and we can be proud of the job we did today.
“We will work hard to keep up this momentum in Baku.”
