Vettel white-knuckle ride the highlight of Monaco - Aston Martin

Aston Martin

Vettel "white-knuckle" ride the highlight of Monaco - Aston Martin

Vettel and Gasly got a little too close for comfort after the pit stops

Sam Hall

Tuesday 25 May 2021 16:29

Aston Martin team boss Otmar Szafnauer has no doubt as to his personal highlight of a lacklustre Monaco Grand Prix.

After four lean races to open the season following the team's rebranding from Racing Point over the winter, Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin finally clicked into gear.

In finishing fifth, the four-time F1 champion ended his scoring drought with the team that enjoyed a double-points finish as Lance Stroll was eighth.

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The largely uneventful race was, however, punctuated by a moment of excitement around the pit stops when Vettel perfected the overcut to jump both Pierre Gasly and Lewis Hamilton into fifth.

Vettel ended up going wheel-to-wheel with Gasly into Massenet to secure the position, a move that left the Frenchman fearing he would end up in a barrier.

“Sebastian produced a truly impressive drive, finishing fifth after a tough race in which he never put a wheel wrong," said Szafnauer.

"He spent the early laps in a solid seventh place, keeping in touch with Lewis in sixth. Then, in the pit stops, he delivered on an excellent strategy devised by our strategists and engineers to jump both Lewis and Pierre.

"The way Sebastian exited the pit lane and held off Pierre up the hill to Casino Square was white-knuckle stuff - in fact, it was the highlight of the race."

Vettel's driver of the day performance

With overtaking almost impossible on the narrow Monaco streets, clever strategy is often the only method of making up positions in the race.

But whilst Aston Martin unquestionably called the overcut perfectly, Vettel still had to execute a series of fast laps when it mattered to make it work, which was recognised by the fans.

"Sebastian was duly voted driver of the day, which was both welcome and deserved," added Szafnauer.

"Lance also drove extremely well, pushing hard when it mattered to make the overcut work against [Esteban] Ocon and [Antonio] Giovinazzi.

"His pace was strong and it was a gutsy performance to gain four positions on a circuit on which gaining places is notoriously difficult.

"So, overall, we are pleased to have scored a total of 14 championship points in Monaco. Roll on Baku!”