For the third time in a row, Aston Martin failed to get past Q1 in a Formula 1 qualifying session. At the Austrian Grand Prix 2022 in Spielberg, Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel failed again in the first segment. Result: Stroll was 17th, Vettel was last.
The conclusion at Aston Martin was correspondingly clear. Stroll, for example, says: “We just weren’t fast enough for Q2.” And team boss Mike Krack also believes that it was “no longer possible” in the AMR22 on the Red Bull Ring.
Only Vettel seems to have a different opinion: It “didn’t feel so bad,” he says on “Sky”. However, Aston Martin was “simply too slow”.
Vettel’s mistake in the first corner
Vettel himself also gave away a better result. He “attacked” on his last lap, explains the four-time world champion. “In the first corner I came out a bit wide and then had the lap canceled even though I lost time.” He was therefore, in a sense, “punished twice”.
And so he is at the bottom of the field with 1:07.083 minutes, behind Williams driver Nicholas Latifi. Stroll was 0.236 seconds faster than Vettel in the second Aston Martin AMR22, but he was also almost three tenths short of progressing in qualifying. “And when one thing leads to another, it’s like today,” says Vettel. “Of course it’s quite hard.”
Overall, it was “pretty bad” for his team, Vettel continued. “We were weak throughout the unit.” And that is, probably also due to the experience of the past few weeks, simply “disappointing”.
What’s left for Aston Martin at Spielberg?
The question remains what Aston Martin can achieve in the sprint and in the Grand Prix, especially since Vettel scored points from the Q1 region at Silverstone. “Let’s see,” says the German. “If we’re honest, we’re slow. And it’s not like we can then plow through the field. But of course we’ll try, overtaking is possible here.”
Vettel relies on “possibilities in the sprint” and on a “hopefully better starting position for the Grand Prix on Sunday,” he says. Then a media representative asked him about his bee-style helmet design and whether the bee would sting on Saturday. Vettel: “Yes, exactly!”
At least team boss Krack is confident: “It’s only Friday. We’ve recently proven that we’re stronger in the race. There’s still a lot possible.”