Vettel finished a poor 17th place in qualifying for the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, only beating his teammate Lance Stroll and the Haas cars to leave Aston Martin as the second slowest team.
Vettel sounded disappointed over the team radio when his engineer confirmed that he was only 17th.
Aston Martin was also at the lower end of the training results, but Vettel was surprised by his difficulties as the AMR21 car hadn’t changed since Qatar, where it reached Q3.
He attributed Aston Martin’s weaknesses to tire prep, a challenge several teams faced this weekend, and the fast Jeddah road that didn’t suit his car.
“It’s the same car, so I think we’re just not a good fit for this track,” said Vettel.
“I struggled a little to get the tires running, but I think everyone did. So it’s not efficient, I think, and it’s not showing our strengths.
“The rounds feel good. The balance is fine as soon as we have it, but we’re miles away and then look at the others’ electrical systems.
“There are no secrets, they are just faster.”
Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Vettel got stuck in a traffic jam towards the end of the first quarter when a line of cars gathered before their flying laps towards Turn 27. Valtteri Bottas, who ran slowly due to an engine failure, ignited the support before he finally returned to the pits.
“[There were] too many cars in the same place on the track and cars that cannot line up, ”said Vettel.
“Some of them [were] Pass. It does not matter.
“But in the end it was two Alpines that happened and everything started to get mixed up. You run out of lane and a car comes from behind and at that point there is a slaughter.
“I was happy that I got the round. Nikita [Mazepin] behind me was side by side on the main straight and he broke off, so I could have done it the other way around and you won’t even get the last shot. “
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