On Track

Driver debrief by Aramco: Canadian GP

Superb tyre management from Lance Stroll saw him finish in 10th place, scoring a point for the team, while Sebastian Vettel climbed four positions to finish in 12th.

After torrential rain on Saturday, the sun returned to Montreal for race day, with both drivers capitalising on free tyre choice to gain places from the back of the field.

Having qualified in 17th and 18th place respectively, a grid penalty for Charles Leclerc meant Sebastian and Lance started in 16th and 17th respectively.

Lance

Lance started on the Hard compound tyre, which allowed him to put in a long stint from the start of the race.

Following a number of retirements, Lance climbed to ninth place as the pit stop window opened and rivals began to stop for fresh rubber.

As the lap count on his starting tyre set rose, Lance had to work hard to defend his position from Zhou Guanyu and a train of other cars behind.

Canadian GP

Race report by Aramco

Lance battled hard to secure a hard-earned point in his home event as Formula One returned to Montreal for the first time since 2019

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After an impressive 47 laps on that first set of tyres, Lance finally pitted and returned to the track in 13th place on another set of Hard tyres.

Further pit stops from the rest of the field during a Safety Car on lap 51 put Lance up into 11th, and a successful overtake of Daniel Ricciardo a couple of laps later sealed 10th place.

With a fastest time of 1.35.531, Lance brought home a point for both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships at his home race.

A big thank you to all the fans for giving me such a fantastic reception all weekend

Lance Stroll

"We had a great strategy for this race and I am super-pleased to have been able to score a point. We did a great job deciding to go long on the first set of tyres to make a one-stop race work, managing to keep a string of cars behind me.

"The overtake on Daniel was a nice bonus – we were on fresher tyres so it was a pretty easy move. Things are certainly a lot more challenging this year, but I am pleased to have had a successful race today.

"Finally, a big thank you to all the fans for giving me such a fantastic reception all weekend – it has been incredible to race at home after such a long time away."

Sebastian

Unlike Lance, Sebastian started on the Medium compound tyre and ran a composed opening few laps of the race as the field settled down.

After lap five, he made a planned pit-stop, switching to the Hard compound and returning to the circuit in 19th.

A Virtual Safety Car on lap 19 allowed Sebastian to pit to once again, taking another set of Hard tyres.

From here, the aim was to finish the race on the same set, meaning he would need to make them last another 50 laps.

For the rest of the race, a number of retirements and slow pit-stops from the field allowed him to steadily climb the order.

As the race entered its final phase and drivers around him pitted for fresh rubber under a late Safety Car, the age of Sebastian's tyres started to take its toll.

We made an early stop to find some clear air, but then the Virtual Safety Cars came along at the wrong time

Sebastian Vettel

Having lost positions in the laps following the restart, Sebastian graciously made way for teammate Lance Stroll lap 60, allowing him to make progress further up the grid.

Sebastian finished the race in 12th place with a fastest lap time of 1.17.956.

"It just was not our day. We made an early stop to find some clear air, but then the Virtual Safety Cars came along at the wrong time. That really compromised my race.

"At the end, I was on very old rubber and I tried to hang on, but it did not work out. Lance was on fresher tyres, and the team asked me to let him past to attack Daniel, which I was happy to do.

"The result was frustrating – we had shown good pace this weekend and could have had a better result, but sometimes things do not go your way. Today felt like one of those days.

"Well done to the team for all their hard work and to Lance for scoring a point today."