©AstonMartin
After a troubled start to his life at Aston Martin, Sebastian Vettel finally scored his first points with Team Silverstone and he did it on merit with a strong run to P5 in Sunday's Monaco GP.
From the outset of his race weekend in the Principality, Vettel appeared to have taken a step forward, and the German driver put his progress to good use in a race which he started 7th, just behind Mercedes Lewis Hamilton.
But a longer first stint relative to his midfield rivals allowed him to overcut Hamilton but also AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly, after which he comfortably held his own in P5 all the way to the checkered flag.
And for good measure, teammate Lance Stroll added more points to Aston's tally in Monaco by finishing P8.
"It was a good day, also to have both cars in the points," said Vettel. "We have waited for that.
"A very important day for all of us, for the team and the guys. A good message also for everyone back in the factory.
"Monaco always has the potential to be a special race and it came our way this weekend."
Vettel hopes that his first top ten finish with Aston will spur him and the team on to more points in the upcoming Azerbaijan GP in Baku in two weeks.
"It’s a long year," said Vettel. "It was probably a question of time. Fifth for sure is a very strong result for us.
"We’ll take the points and hopefully we can be similarly strong in Baku.
"It’s a street circuit, even though the nature is very different, because it’s very fast with one long straight line – but we’ll see what we can do."
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
McLaren arrived in Bahrain for pre-season testing determined to defend its status as Formula 1’s…
Nico Hulkenberg has given F1 fans a vivid image to ponder ahead of the 2026…
Under the pale winter sun of Barcelona and the desert glare of Bahrain, George Russell…
Peter Gethin, the man who secured perhaps the most thrilling win ever witnessed in Grand…
Aston Martin engine supplier Honda has publicly conceded what the timing screens in Bahrain had…
As the countdown to 2026 gathers pace, Oscar Piastri has reshuffled his inner circle –…