First points of the season were a “great boost” but Aston Martin still has “a long way to go”, team boss Mike Krack admits.
After Australia, it couldn’t have any worse for the Silverstone-based team who suffered multiple crashes and reliability worries, raising questions about if they would have to reduce their development budget for this season.
At Imola though, Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll finished P8 and P10 respectively after taking advantage of the mixed weather and holding faster cars at bay as overtaking proved difficult in the midfield.
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In the case of Vettel, he had the Haas of Kevin Magnussen behind him which had started the Sprint from P4 after a wet qualifying, but the German benefitted from an early move to slicks and better tyre management to stay ahead
“I think it was an unbelievable race for us,” the four-time world champion said afterwards.
“We capitalised on the conditions, but after that we were just trying to hang on as much as we could and we did well keeping faster cars behind us.
“I think it was a very strong race.”
As for Stroll, he also played a rear-guard action for most of the afternoon at Imola.
“It’s been a positive weekend for the team and it’s great to see both cars in the points,” he commented.
“It was a well-earned point for us because there was intense pressure throughout the race, not to mention the changeable weather conditions.
“At the beginning of the race we performed strongly. Everyone was battling overheating tyres and a drying track, but we kept [Lewis] Hamilton behind and pressured [Yuki] Tsunoda ahead.
“Once we switched to the medium tyres we continued to show good pace and pulled away from the train of cars behind us. I’m happy we performed better this weekend and made the most of the opportunities that came our way.
“We will enjoy today but will continue to keep pushing for more in the coming races.”
The result means every team has now scored points in 2022 after just four Grands Prix, with Aston Martin vaulting Williams to sit P9 in the Constructors’ standings.
“Both Sebastian and Lance drove faultlessly,” team boss Krack said.
“We know we still have a long way to go, but this afternoon’s result is a great boost for the whole team – both here in Imola and back at the factory.”