F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Stroll happy with 'maximum attack' effort in Styrian GP

Lance Stroll scored his fifth top-ten finish of the season in the Styrian Grand Prix thanks to a strong start and a "maximum attack" effort that also saw him outpace his Aston Martin teammate Sebastian Vettel.

After failing to exit the first segment of qualifying in Baku and at Paul Ricard, Stroll made it into Saturday's Q3 shootout which he concluded P10.

But the Canadian was able to line up 9th on Sunday's grid thanks to Yuki Tsunoda's three-place grid penalty.

At the start, Stroll unleashed one of his signature opening laps, overtaking a string of cars to move all the way up to sixth where he remained until his pitstop on lap 28.

"It was a good first lap," said Stroll. "I overtook Fernando around the outside and that really set us up for a good rest of the race.

"From there it was just maximum attack and happy to pick up some points for the team today."

©AstonMartin

However, dueling with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc was always going to be a challenge for the Aston charger who eventually brought his AMR21 home in eighth place.

"The Ferraris seemed a bit too quick, so I don’t think we could have got much more out of it today," added the 22-year-old.

"We tried to hold off Carlos and Charles but they had strong pace in the final part of the race and a tyre advantage. So P8 is a good result and we can be happy with a positive weekend from the very first lap on Friday."

On the other side of Team Silverstone's garage, after qualifying a lowly P13, Vettel remained engulfed all afternoon in the thick of the midfield pack, but just outside of the points.

But the four-time world champion vowed to return "stronger" next weekend at the same time and place.

"It was a tough race today," said Vettel. "The midfield was very close and we were in the battle for points for the majority of the race. However, we spent a lot of time in traffic and I was struggling for grip towards the end.

"When everyone is so closely matched, these factors can really impact your race and the final result. It is always very easy to say we should have done things differently in hindsight.

"But we are focused on coming back stronger next weekend," he added.

"The tyres are one step softer for the Austrian Grand Prix, for example, so there is plenty of preparation work ahead in the coming days."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.

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