Lance Stroll hopes the FIA Formula 1 World Championship can put on a good show at the Circuit Paul Ricard this weekend, with the 2022 cars providing better racing compared to their predecessors of recent years.
The Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team driver says the host venue of the French Grand Prix is a challenging track to drive, but he believes the ground effect cars of 2022 will offer a much better spectacle at the track than it has done since the venue returned to the calendar.
Stroll, who has failed to better tenth in any race so far in 2022, is hoping to bring home a good result for the team, who will be celebrating their one-hundredth anniversary this weekend.
“Paul Ricard is quite a challenging circuit, with a variety of corners and some long, winding sections towards the end of the lap,” said Stroll. “The ground-effect cars we have this year appear to be producing better racing, so I hope we can put on a good show for the fans here.
“It is a special event for the team with Aston Martin’s one-hundredth anniversary celebrations, so hopefully we will be able to come away with a good result this weekend.”
“The previous weekends have not always been kind to us” – Sebastian Vettel
Team-mate Sebastian Vettel is hoping Aston Martin can find a bit of luck and performance this weekend in France after feeling they have been lucking a bit of both in recent events.
Vettel has scored points in four of the nine races he has participated in this year – he missed the opening two races of the year having tested positive for COVID-19 – but he feels the team deserve more points than they’ve managed so far.
“Paul Ricard’s high-speed corners should gain an added dimension with these ground-effect cars, and the lower-speed corners will provide a challenge for everybody,” said Vettel.
“The previous weekends have not always been kind to us for one reason or another, so it would be nice to pick up some momentum before the summer break.”
As part of the teams’ one-hundredth anniversary celebrations, Vettel will get the opportunity to drive an Aston Martin Grand Prix car from 1922, something he is thrilled to be doing.
“Finally, I am passionate about the history of the sport, so it will be really special to drive one of Aston Martin’s original 1922 Grand Prix cars this weekend,” he said.
