Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One™ Team scored its first points finish of the 2022 season when Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll finished eighth and 10th respectively in Imola.
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix hosted a race affected by changeable conditions, which benefitted the team and, alongside a well-executed strategy, brought a double-points result.
Sebastian
Sebastian lined up 13th for the Grand Prix following Saturday's Sprint result and had to be on his toes when the field bunched up through Turn Two.
A collision between Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz Jr on the exit of the corner allowed the German to make up several places.
When the inevitable Safety Car was called on the first lap, Sebastian was circulating in ninth and firmly in points contention.
Once the race resumed, the next challenge was predicting the weather. Having started on the Intermediate tyre, a dry line was quickly appearing as the threat of further rain loomed.
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Go inside the story of our 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and hear from Lance, Sebastian and Team Principal Mike Krack. Discover the data underpinning our races and more in our comprehensive race report.
Sebastian, like the rest of the field, contended with overheating tyres and changeable grip levels, before pitting on lap 18 of 63 for a used set of Medium tyres.
The strategy proved correct as Sebastian gained several places when the field cycled through their stops, now running seventh approaching mid-distance.
"It is clear that we benefitted from the cooler and damp conditions on Friday and Sunday, but we still needed to capitalise on the opportunities that came our way," said Sebastian.
"We also achieved that through good strategy, making our pitstop for dry tyres at the right moment."
In the dry conditions, there was little the four-time World Champion could do to prevent Yuki Tsunoda from moving ahead, but he otherwise settled into a stint of carefully managing the tyres until the end.
It is an important result for the team because they have worked so hard in a challenging season so far.
There was a brief battle with the out-of-position Ferrari of Charles Leclerc late on before Sebastian crossed the line in eighth to score vital points.
"The team did really well today and we maximised everything to finish P8," added Sebastian.
"It is an important result for the team because they have worked so hard in a challenging season so far.
"We may not have had the pure pace in this race, but we managed the tyres well and we got both cars into the points. It is nice to get off the mark and get points in the bag and now we are looking forward to Miami."
Lance
Like Sebastian, Lance would make progress during the topsy-turvy first lap, gaining places not only from the Turn Two collision but also Mick Schumacher's spin at the exit of the same corner.
The Canadian began to trade places with Tsunoda before a Safety Car was called with Lance in 11th place, marking a four-place gain across the opening turns.
"Everyone was battling overheating tyres and a drying track, but we kept [Lewis] Hamilton behind and pressured [Yuki] Tsunoda ahead," reflected Lance.
When the race resumed, Lance made quick work of Fernando Alonso's Alpine to move into 10th ahead of his sole stop on lap 18 for a set of used Mediums.
It has been a positive weekend for the team and it is great to see both cars in the points.
Lance's second stint was spent on the defensive after Tsunoda created a train from ninth down to 15th.
"Once we switched to the Medium tyre, we continued to show good pace and pulled away from the train of cars behind us," he added.
But Lance expertly held off the advances of Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton among others to retain his 10th place at the finish, holding a margin of over one second throughout to prevent the threat of a DRS-assisted pass.
"It has been a positive weekend for the team and it is great to see both cars in the points," said Lance.
"It was a well-earned point for us today because there was intense pressure throughout the race, not to mention the changeable weather conditions.
"I am happy that we performed better this weekend and made the most of the opportunities that came our way. Qualifying and the race were in cooler and wet conditions, which may have suited us.
"We will enjoy today but will continue to keep pushing for more in the coming races."
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