Sebastian Vettel credited aggressive start to checking lines on formation lap in F1 Singapore GP, as Lance Stroll quite pleased with best result.
It was some fight back from Aston Martin duo in F1 Singapore GP where they were slightly helped by multiple safety car and virtual safety car periods and mistakes from others. They had decent pace all-through the weekend but didn’t make it in Q3.
They gambled on the dry tyres in Q2 but it didn’t work. But at the race start, they had a decent getaway and were in the points. Vettel noted how he checked for a line during the formation lap and stuck to it after making an aggressive start to gain places.
Once in points, he didn’t back down as Aston Martin made good strategy calls to keep themselves in the hunt. They were helped by the mistakes made by Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, but the Dutchman eventually got through Vettel in the end.
Despite that, Vettel finished a good eighth to compliment teammate Stroll’s best result of 2022 in sixth who was unfazed by any of these fights happening behind him. “I knew I had to be aggressive at the start, so after the initial bit of patience across the line, I knew I had to push, which I did,” said the German.
“I was checking out some lines on the lap to the grid and it worked, so happy with that. And after that, I think we got a bit unlucky; I would have liked to stay out longer – we’ll have a look – but I think it wasn’t great that the Safety Car just came out, which just then banked the positions.
“Hamilton and Verstappen were much faster. I can see in the mirrors they were following with ease, so I was obviously a little bit stuck with Lance at times and it didn’t help that my rear tyres were not so fresh at the end. I had a bit of a wobble in the last lap exiting Turn 5, I knew it had to be spot on; it wasn’t quite spot on, so Max had a decent run down and they have a very strong top speed with their… car so it was difficult.
“I tried, but it was close. I was defending for many laps and it was a shame that Max got ahead of us on the final lap,” summed up Vettel. While the German had his fights, as noted above, Stroll silently secured sixth which helped Aston Martin to leapfrog Haas in the standings with three points separating the two in the fight for seventh.
“It feels so good to pick up sixth place, which is my best result of the season,” said Stroll. “It was also a good day for Seb, so we have come away with a big bunch of points. That is great for everybody in the team who is working so hard. It was a tricky race: the track surface was very slippery for the whole race, and it was not easy to stay out of trouble.
“It took a very long time to dry, just as it did yesterday. It was just a case of waiting for the areas with the new asphalt to dry out before the switch to slicks, which we timed really well. We have moved up in the teams’ championship, which is important and a nice boost as we enter the final part of the season.”
Here’s the start from Sebastian Vettel: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.onboard-vettel-gains-five-places-in-brilliant-start-to-2022-singapore-grand-prix.1745604097660154490.html
Here’s Sebastian Vettel fending off Hamilton and Verstappen: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2022-singapore-grand-prix-verstappen-capitalises-on-hamilton-mistake.1745593094189809463.html