Aston Martin duo Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll offered brief verdicts of their last-lap battle at Paul Ricard that almost saw the pair collide in the fight for the final point in France.
Stroll enjoyed a great start in France to shoot from P15 to P10, going wheel-to-wheel with Vettel on the opening lap before the German driver caught up and attempted to snatch the last point on the inside of the final corner on the final lap of the race – though Stroll shut the door on his team mate at the apex of Turn 15.
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“Obviously I was faster, I closed the gap fairly quickly but then I didn’t have much time, he [Stroll] was catching the car in front as well with the DRS so it was difficult. I had a chance on the last lap at the last corner but then he hits the brakes on the apex,” said Vettel after the race.
“I nearly ran into him after that. I mean, we are fighting for one point in the end, so it’s the same for the team.
“My afternoon was frustrating,” continued Vettel. “I was stuck in traffic for the whole race – but you expect that when you start in the midfield. And, with the strategy, I do not think there was really much more the team could have done there. It is clear that we need more grip.”
Stroll offered a similarly pithy reflection to his race, though he was pleased with Aston Martin’s turn of pace on Sunday.
“Yes, it was a good day,” he said. “[The start] set us up for a good race. It was a bit tricky on the hard [tyre] at the end, but managed to score points, so happy with that.
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“We are continuing our trend of being more competitive on a Sunday so today is a good platform as the summer break approaches. I had a snap on the exit on the last lap because I was struggling with my tyres at the very end. It was a good fight with Sebastian, but the most important thing was to bring a point home for the team today.”
Team Principal Mike Krack said that he was pleased that the team managed to score points for the fifth time in six weekends, before looking ahead to next weekend and a circuit that he “thinks may suit [the] car better than Paul Ricard.”
Aston Martin enter Hungary ninth in the standings, eight points behind AlphaTauri.
