Has Aston Martin established itself as the sixth-fastest team

Aston Martin’s late resurgence in F1 might result in the team snatching sixth in the constructors’ championship. The team has taken advantage of others’ penalties and misfortune to a great extent. At some point in the United States Grand Prix, Lance Stroll was sitting in third place, while Sebastian Vettel was fifth.

Not to mention the fact that Sebastian Vettel was leading the race before his second pit stop. This is the first time an Aston Martin is leading the race this season.

Back to reality

Of course, this doesn’t tell the true story, as the pair quickly fell back to the clutches of Lewis Hamilton, George Russel, Sergio Perez, and Charles Leclerc. This was nothing unexpected.

Instead, what broke Aston Martin fans’ hearts was the situation that led to Fernando Alonso trying to take off with his Airbus A522 from the Circuit of the Americas International Airport. As per the stewards of the race, it was Stroll’s rare talent to create carnage to blame.

The not-so-immediate aftermath to that is a three-place grid penalty for the Mexican Grand Prix for the Canadian. Miraculously, Alonso’s Alpine survived the impact with the Aston Martin AMR22, the ground, and the wall, and finished P7. Well, just to be protested by Haas and given a 30-second time penalty, which is the translation of a post-race 10-second stop-and-go penalty.

More setbacks

Sebastian Vettel, on the other hand, benefited from the penalty, after he was badly delayed in the pits. He was stationary for 16.8 seconds and came back on the track at P13.

On fresh tires, and full of adrenaline, the German snatched P8 on the last lap, overtaking Kevin Magnussen. This turned into P7 after Alonso’s penalty, but what is more important is that the AMR22 has speed.

With no major changes planned in the regulations for next year, Aston Martin is in a very good position. But what lead to that? Well, firstly – it is the conversion to Red Bull-style sidepods. Porpoising was a big issue for many teams at the beginning of the season, but it arguably hit the British team the most.

Then, came the FIA derivative, which aimed to reduce the flexibility of the floors. This would result in less bouncing but would be a compromise to the design of some cars. Ever since then, Red Bull has been untouchable, but what is more interesting is that Aston Martin became solid points scorers.

Points haul after the summer break

Since Hungary, the team has accumulated the sixth-most points with 31, compared to only 1 for Alfa Romeo, currently occupying sixth place in the championship. At this rate, Aston Martin should be able to snatch sixth, and definitely has the sixth-fastest car on the grid.