Second chance Aston Martin after Bahrain: "We see Imola as a new opportunity"

Last season Aston Martin was still battling for third place in the championship, but in Bahrain, the renamed team was in a much worse position. Lance Stroll took the final point and Sebastian Vettel finished a disappointing fifteenth.

Especially Vettel would have liked the debut with his new employer to be different. With the clumsy crash with Esteban Ocon as the low point. In Aston Martin's preview at Imola, Vettel let it be known that he is heading for Imola with fresh courage. "I'm excited to get going this weekend. As a circuit, Imola is a completely different challenge to Bahrain: it's a circuit where you can really attack, so I'm looking forward to it."

The fact that there was some extra time between the two races also suited Vettel. "It was good to have that little bit of extra time between these first two races - this year's calendar won't always be so forgiving - but that just gave us an extra chance to look at the data and understand where we need to improve the AMR21."

Stroll too had hoped for a better start to the season. "I think as a team we wanted more last time in Bahrain, so we see Imola as a new opportunity. We've seen that a number of teams are very evenly matched, so it's essential that we get off to a good start and run well in every session if we want to make a difference."