On Track

Driver debrief by Aramco: Austrian GP

Lance finished 13th in what turned out to be a difficult weekend in Austria, while Sebastian's progress in the race was halted due to a collision and he came home in 17th.

Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One™ Team faced a challenging Austrian Grand Prix, as Lance fought throughout the race with faster cars while Sebastian's race came undone after contact with Pierre Gasly.

Lance

Starting on Medium tyres from 12th after the Sprint, Lance gained a position on the opening lap after a collision happened in front.

He stayed within range of the McLaren pair on the fringes of the top 10 in the opening part of the race.

He ran long in the opening stint, taking his tyres to lap 29 before stopping for Hard tyres.

Lance then raced hard with some of the cars in the points-paying positions, including [George] Russell and [Mick] Schumacher, but with tyre degradation higher than anticipated after rain early in the day, Lance stopped for a second time on lap 48 to return to Medium tyres.

He set his fastest lap of the race, a 1.10.048, on lap 64.

Lance gained a couple of positions towards the end of the race as other cars hit issues and finished in 13th.

I had some good wheel-to-wheel moments out there with cars on different strategies, which was fun.

Lance Stroll

"My start was decent, and I could hold position and battle with the McLarens early on.

"I also had some good wheel-to-wheel moments out there with cars on different strategies, which was fun. However, it was tricky to keep the faster cars behind.

"It would have been nice to have come away with a point or two after a strong recovery drive yesterday, but we have to keep pushing and will try and return to the points in France."

Sebastian

Starting in 18th, Sebastian gained positions early in the race and raced with [Fernando] Alonso early on but ran over some debris.

Sebastian ran until lap 20 on the Hard tyres and then swapped to the Medium compound.

He was running in 13th position and was making up positions when he was hit by [Pierre] Gasly, which resulted in a five-second penalty for the AlphaTauri driver.

Sebastian had worked his way around the outside at Turn Four, but was sent into a spin on the exit and into the gravel.

Sebastian was able to continue, but he had dropped towards the back of the field.

He stopped for a second time for another set of Medium tyres on lap 44, which he took to the finish.

Sebastian finished 15th on the road but picked up a five-second time penalty on the final lap and was classified in 17th.

I think Gasly was just a bit too keen, ran into me, and I was off in the gravel.

Sebastian Vettel

"It is disappointing to be pushed into the gravel again [after the contact with Alex Albon yesterday].

"This time it was Gasly and it almost feels that there is a target on my car! I had made a good move on the outside and was ahead leaving plenty of space. I think he was just a bit too keen, ran into me, and I was off in the gravel.

"The car was not in the best shape after that and my race was pretty much done. Before that it was a tricky race because I was hit by some debris on the first lap, which may have damaged the car.

"We were not very competitive on the Hard tyres at the start, but the Medium was better and we were working our way through the field until the contact with Pierre.

"I think we have had quite an unlucky weekend so let's just turn the page and focus on the next race in France."