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The pace that carried Aston Martin to its first points of the 2022 Formula 1 season was a combination of the weather, track, and learnings from earlier in the weekend.
Sebastian Vettel finished eighth and Lance Stroll 10th in last weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
It marked a strong improvement from the result of Saturday’s Sprint Qualifying which left the duo just 13th and 15th respectively.
Team boss Mike Krack was pleased with the result, though mindful of the impact the conditions and circuit had on its outcome.
“We are happy, obviously,” he said of the double points-paying result.
“We managed, in difficult conditions from Friday and [Sunday] to bring the car back in better shape than it is by pace.
“I think the drivers and the team did a very good job there, in timing the stops right, in putting into action what we have learned [on Saturday] from dry running.
“All in all, I’m satisfied with the first point of the season, but we have a long way to go.”
Aston Martin has faced a difficult start to F1’s new era, prior to last weekend’s race managing a best result of 12th.
The Imola result has seen it leapfrog Williams in the points standings to now sit ninth in the constructors’ championship.
However, it is not necessarily an indication of a reversal of fortunes, suggests Krack.
“I think we had a track that was probably suiting [us] a little bit, and the conditions were helping,” he observed.
“And I think also we learned quite a lot [on Saturday] from the Sprint with the soft tyres that we could apply.”
Heading into the weekend, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel maintained that, despite the rough start, the spirit within the team was unbroken.
Aston Martin’s struggles in the early part of the season have prompted speculation the German, who is out of contract at the end of the year, could leave the team.
“The car obviously is not quick enough,” he said.
“We know that in comparison to the opposition there’s still a lot of work to do.
“But when it comes to the team and the effort that is going on, I would say the spirit is unbroken.
“[It] doesn’t feel great when you come out of the session and you’re not where you think you could have been, or where you wanted to be, but we know that a lot of stuff is coming.
“We will see in the next weeks and months whether it’s going in the right direction, but the atmosphere is good.”
Formula 1 next heads to the United States for the Miami Grand Prix on May 6-8.
