Driver Debrief by Aramco: Belgian GP
Sebastian secured four well-earned points for Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One™ Team at Spa-Francorchamps, while Lance just missed out on a top 10 result.
A raft of grid penalties helped elevate both Lance and Sebastian onto row five on the grid for the Belgian Grand Prix, and they aimed to capitalise on that strong starting position in the race.
Sebastian
Starting 10th on the grid on a scrubbed set of Medium tyres, Sebastian had a brilliant start, and found himself in fifth by the end of the opening lap before a Safety Car was dispatched to clear up debris and stranded cars.
For the restart, he settled in behind Fernando Alonso and just ahead of Daniel Ricciardo.
He lost a position to the much quicker Red Bull of Max Verstappen but spent much of the early stages of the race scrapping with Alonso.
A strong points finish in Belgium
Sebastian picked up four points and Lance narrowly missed out on a top-10 position as Formula One returned to action at one of the most legendary circuits on the calendar.
He made his first stop at the end of lap 14 for new Hard tyres but lost a position to Alex Albon’s Williams. However, it didn’t take long for Sebastian to get past and he started to close up to Alonso.
Alonso pitted as Sebastian was closing in, his pace on the white-sidewalled tyre looking particularly strong. Esteban Ocon, on a similar strategy in the second Alpine, pitted for another set of Medium tyres and Sebastian followed him into the pits one lap later.
While Sebastian was initially able to pass Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri, he lost out to both the Alpha Tauri driver and Ocon’s Alpine when both later towed past using DRS along the Kemmel Straight.
He repassed Gasly in the closing stages, but fell just two seconds’ short of catching Ocon, finishing eighth and claiming four Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship points.
I was able to put pressure on both Alpines, and I think seventh might have been possible, but they were a bit too fast for us today.
"Eighth is a solid result. I was a little bit unlucky with the timing for the second stop.
"I came out just behind Pierre and lost a lap behind him, which allowed Esteban on new tyres to close down the advantage I had built up during the middle stint.
"Once again, we were more competitive in the race than in qualifying: we started strongly and I managed to find a decent rhythm.
"I was able to put pressure on both Alpines, and I think seventh might have been possible, but they were a bit too fast for us today. But we will bank these points."
Lance
Lance started the Grand Prix from ninth on the grid and chased Sebastian up the straight into the braking zone for Turn Five. After a brief scrabble across the gravel, he wound up ninth for the restart after the early Safety Car.
He was right in the mix in an early battle for seventh with Albon, Ricciardo and Ocon. Faster cars behind made their way up the order and passed Lance while he looked after his tyres well – going the furthest of any Medium-starting runners in the first stint.
Lance stopped for a set of scrubbed Medium tyres at the end of lap 15, and quickly started moving up the order, pulling off well-executed passes on Lando Norris and Gasly.
Our race pace was positive and we are extracting good performance from the car when it matters most.
He pitted again, this time for new Hard tyres, after another battle with Ricciardo, and set his sights on chasing back into the points-scoring positions.
He charged back up to the edge of the top 10, closely battling over the final point with Albon, Norris, Zhou Guanyu and Ricciardo. However, the straightline speed of the Williams proved too strong, meaning Lance finished 11th, just over a second away from securing a point.
"It was a tricky day out there today, and we were so close to picking up a point. Things did not quite work out for us as we had hoped.
"Losing some positions early on made it tough, but we had some fun battles out there within the midfield. Later in the race we got stuck in a DRS train behind Albon's Williams, and ultimately we came up just short.
"Our race pace was positive, however, and we are extracting good performance from the car when it matters most."
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