"I was eaten up at the end" - Sebastian Vettel claims he struggled with graining and lack of pace at the 2022 F1 Imola GP Sprint

Sebastian Vettel did not have a great sprint race at Imola on Saturday.

The Aston Martin driver had outperformed the machinery to qualify in P9 for the race. However, the Sprint was on a dry track and left Vettel completely exposed to the challenge from behind.

The German revealed that he struggled from a lack of pace and graining on the tires throughout the race, leaving him in no position to attack at the front. He explained:

"We struggled for pace and we struggled with graining in the end. I think we did what we could, it's a shame that there was a bunch of cars behind and I was eaten up at the end."

When asked if he would still gamble on soft tires for the start of the race on Sunday, Vettel said:

"Let's see, I think soft is probably not the first choice tomorrow. It's the same for everyone, obviously you want the benefit in the first couple of laps in the sprint, we expected less graining, there was more in the end, I looked at other cars as well and I wasn't the only one(that had graining on the tires)"

Multiple drivers like Mick Schumacher, George Russell, and Yuki Tsunoda were able to stick a move on Vettel near the end of the sprint.

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Sebastian Vettel scored the first points of the season for the team

Sebastian Vettel finished the race at Imola GP in the eighth position after starting in 13th.

What was even more impressive was the fact that the Aston Martin was visibly slower than the cars around it. Even though Vettel succumbed and lost a position to Yuki Tsunoda later in the race, he was able to secure points for Aston Martin for the first time this season.

Lance Stroll also finished 10th in the race, giving Aston Martin a double points finish this weekend.

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Also Check Out :-F1 Standings 2022