Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team's Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll secured 12th and 16th in qualifying for F1's third and final Sprint format at the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Both drivers assessed all three tyre compounds available this weekend in the run-up to the session, with Lance displaying top-10 form by setting the 10th fastest time in FP1.
Sebastian
With the Soft tyres mandated in qualifying in F1's Sprint format, Sebastian produced a 1.10.148 run in the opening stages of Q1 to lay down an early benchmark.
On two subsequent runs, the German continued to improve, and with a final 1.09.451 effort, advanced to Q2 with the 14th-fastest time.
São Paulo Grand Prix
Formula One returns to Brazil for the first time since 2019, and there's an extra twist as the F1 Sprint format makes its third and final outing of the year. A venue steeped in history, combined with an experimental take on future Grand Prix racing formats, make Interlagos the perfect host for an exciting late-season showdown.
Sebastian opened his account in the second session with a 1.09.486 run and facing elimination, took to the track once more in the closing stages.
With a final 1.09.399 run to the flag, Sebastian secured 12th, falling just short of Q3.
Lining up on the sixth row in Saturday's Sprint, Sebastian faces a chance to secure a top 10 starting position for Sunday's Grand Prix.
"Unfortunately, we didn’t quite have the pace to challenge the top 10 today, but overall, I think we had a decent qualifying session.
"I pushed hard from the outset and, given that we have the Sprint tomorrow, 12th is a reasonable position from which to start.
"I am hoping that in race conditions we will be more competitive, so I feel quite optimistic tonight."
Lance
Assessing all three tyre compounds in FP1, Lance focused on performance running in the lead up to qualifying on Friday morning.
With a 1.10.352 lap on the Soft tyres, the Canadian ranked 10th in the opening session of the Grand Prix weekend.
São Paulo GP through the lens of Conor McDonnell
Globally-renowned photographer and Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team fan, Conor McDonnell, is embedded with the team at Interlagos this weekend to capture a different angle of the Brazilian Grand Prix and tell a different story from inside the F1 Paddock.
In qualifying, Lance initially topped the timesheets in his opening run of Q1, completing a 1.09.956 lap.
As track conditions evolved, lap times began to improve, and Lance responded by punching in a 1.09.663 lap time despite struggling with the balance of the AMR21.
Unfortunately, this run narrowly fell short of the top 15, with Lance failing to advance to Q2.
He will start 16th in F1's Sprint on Saturday, aiming to gain ground in race conditions to improve his grid position for Sunday.
"I am disappointed with my qualifying result. Throughout today, I have been struggling with the balance of the car and I think that is reflected in the end result.
"However, because this weekend features the Sprint format, we have a chance to fight forward tomorrow and, if we can make up some ground, we should be able to start in a better position for the race on Sunday."
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