Austrian GP : Post-Friday Reaction from Vettel and Stroll

After scoring four points a week ago in Styrian Grand Prix at Red Bull Ring, Aston Martin looking to improve their point tally in this weekend’s Austrian GP at the same venue.

Back-to-back races at the same venue gives an opportunity to validate new parts for Formula 1 teams. Aston Martin grabbed the opportunity with two hands on Friday by validating their new diffuser and barge boards.

Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel improved the AMR21 throughout Friday practice ahead of the 2021 BWT Austrian Grand Prix in an encouraging display for Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team.

Completing 128 laps across the two sessions, both drivers also conducted significant running on the prototype Pirelli tyre.

Lance and Sebastian played their part in Pirelli’s evaluation of a new rear tyre planned for the British Grand Prix and dedicated a large part of FP1 to running on the new compound.

In morning Free Practice One session, Lance Stroll put his AMR21 in P13 with a fastest lap time of 1:06.203, +1.060s down on session leader Max Verstappen in Red Bull. The Canadian managed to complete 30 laps.

Stroll’s teammate Sebastian Vettel comes home in P15 with a fastest lap time of 1:06.444, +1.301s down on P1 time. The German managed to complete 28 laps.

In the Afternoon second practice session both drivers managed to improve on their morning times and positions.

Lance Stroll comes home in P4 with a fastest lap time of 1:05.139, +0.616s down on session leader Lewis Hamilton’s P1 time in Mercedes. Stroll managed to complete 33 laps.

Sebastian Vettel comes home just behind his teammate in P5, with a fastest lap time of 1:05.268, +0.745s down on Lewis’s P1 time. The German managed to complete 37 laps.

Sebastian Vettel

“Firstly, it was very nice to see fans at the track again and that they are keeping safe.

“It was interesting conditions out there today because we have a softer range of tyres this weekend and it was much cooler conditions. There was also some drizzle at the end, although it did not affect us very much.

“We have done our homework after last weekend’s race and we tried a few different things today, too.

“It was nice to be in the top five in the afternoon, but the focus is on making sure we show some good pace in qualifying and reach Q3 to give ourselves the best possible chance of points.”

Lance Stroll

“It has been a good day for us. The morning was a little more eventful for me, but I think we managed to put together plenty of clean laps and we have learned a lot.

“One of the key factors this weekend will be the softer range of tyres that Pirelli has chosen. I think it is a good call because it could mix things up on Sunday and create some strategy variance. In a tight midfield battle, that could be exciting.

“On our side, the car feels good on the softer tyres. All in all, we can be happy with our work today. Now it is about extracting the maximum for qualifying tomorrow.”