Lance Stroll believes his strong P7 in US Grand Prix qualifying highlights recent improvements by Aston Martin.
The Canadian finished 'best of the rest' behind the top three teams in Austin, claiming his strongest result on a Saturday so far in 2022.
And with the team in a strong run of form, scoring 20 points in the past three races, Stroll hopes to add to that tally on race day.
"The car felt really good today, we found plenty of grip and the car gave me confidence," he said after Q3.
Two huge laps from @lance_stroll today. And it felt good.#F1 #USGP pic.twitter.com/otahOkenrW
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) October 23, 2022
"It gives us a great starting position for tomorrow. I am really pleased for the team because we have made good progress with the car recently and we are looking stronger on Saturdays.
"I really enjoyed it out there, even though conditions were tricky with the wind. It looks like we will start from fifth place, with a couple of penalties for the cars ahead, which means we are in the mix to pick up a good result on Sunday."
As for teammate Sebastian Vettel, he narrowly missed out on Q3 by less than a tenth but will start P10 due to grid penalties.
"There was more speed in the car today, so I am disappointed with my final qualifying result," said the 2013 race winner at COTA.
Starting P5 and P10 at the #USGP.
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) October 23, 2022
Let's. Go. pic.twitter.com/E4PVNUnlu1
"I was not happy with my lap in Q2 and I was struggling to find confidence with the rear.
"Sector 1 was quite tricky today with the tailwind, but I lost time straight away when the rear end snapped turning into Turn 3, so I lost quite a lot of time in that whole sequence.
"The rest of the lap was alright, but I was playing catch-up. Small margins made the difference today and that is why I missed out on Q3."
