British GP
The Debrief by Aramco
A challenging day for the team at Silverstone Circuit.
Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One® Team leaves the British Grand Prix third in the Constructors' Championship after Fernando secures points in our home race.
A challenging day for the team at Silverstone Circuit that yields six points as Fernando battles to P7 from P9 on the grid. Lance, meanwhile, finishes out of the points after a late penalty.
The clouds hung thick and low over our home circuit but rain didn't materialise during a Grand Prix that saw a late Virtual Safety Car-turned-Safety Car, which provided an opportune time for both of our drivers to pit.
Fernando began the race on Used Medium tyres and made his way up into the top five having forgone the chance to pit before the Safety Car was deployed. He then took the chance to switch to Used Soft tyres and ended the race seventh by the chequered flag.
Lance also began the race on Used Medium tyres and he took the chance to pit for Used Soft tyres when the Virtual Safety Car emerged. However, he fell out of points contention late on and was given a five-second penalty for his role in a collision towards the closing stages of the race.
Read what Fernando, Lance and Team Principal Mike Krack said after our 10th-consecutive points-scoring race of 2023.
The Grand Prix
"We maximised the race today and took seventh place in a difficult weekend for the team. I think we managed our strategy well and made the right calls during the race. We need to analyse the weekend as a whole, but we aren't worried about this result." Fernando praises the strategy team's calls during the race after coming home in points. Despite a lack of competitiveness compared to the front-runners, he says there is no concern – but there is work to do.
"It just wasn't our day today. As we expected, the characteristics of this circuit didn't quite suit the AMR23, and we struggled for pace out there." Lance says that the high- and medium-speed corners of Silverstone Circuit didn't suit the AMR23 as well as they suited other teams.
"To come away from our home race at Silverstone with six points is a reasonable return from a weekend where we were lacking the pace to compete at the front. Fernando's race was pretty straightforward, and we optimised the timing of his switch to the Soft tyres under the Safety Car." Mike explains that six points is a decent haul given the AMR23 did not suit the circuit as well as our competitors' cars .
"We've been performing better than expected so far in 2023 and it’s a long season. Only two races ago we were fighting for the win and there will be more ups and downs during this season." Fernando says there are plenty more races ahead and plenty more points on the table. The competitive picture will change depending on the demands of each circuit.
"On a couple of occasions I was forced wide by Pierre [Gasly] and we made contact the second time; we’ll check this evening whether that caused any damage to the car." Lance reflects on a continued wheel-to-wheel tussle with Pierre Gasly at the end of the race that lasted a number of laps. Lance passed Pierre around the outside of Stowe on Lap 43 and, two laps later, the pair collided leading to a five-second penalty for Lance.
"Today was a case of damage limitation and Fernando had to defend hard in the closing stages to secure seventh place. Lance raced hard today. He was pushing hard to get into the top 10 in the final stages, but the contact with Pierre [Gasly] ultimately dropped him down the final order." Fighting hard. Mike highlights the determined drives of both Fernando and Lance in an effort to try to secure a solid haul of points for the team on home soil.
"It was great to be racing here at Silverstone and seeing the level of support there is for Aston Martin. Let's see if we can return to a better level of performance in Hungary." Fernando concludes by hailing the brilliant home support – with more than 400,000 fans in attendance – that we've enjoyed at Silverstone Circuit as he looks forward to the next round.
"It’s been a tough weekend but our focus now shifts to Hungary – a circuit that should suit our car – where we’ll be pushing hard for a better result." Lance says he'll do everything to bounce back with a strong result at the Hungaroring, which is a much lower-speed affair, particularly in Sector Two where a sequence of eight winding low- and medium-speed corners provide a real challenge for drivers.
"Today's result has consolidated our third place in the Championship and we increased our advantage over Ferrari. We will work hard as a team to return to a more competitive weekend in Budapest in a couple of weeks." Mike concludes by looking ahead to the challenge posed by the Hungaroring, where the tight and twisty circuit could suit our AMR23 better than Silverstone. We leave our home race sitting third in the Constructors' Standings.