Vettel: Aston Martin’s F1 timeline realistic

Sebastian Vettel

Aston Martin’s ambition to become Formula 1 world champion in five years’ time is a realistic time frame, according to Sebastian Vettel.

The Silverstone-based roster is currently laying the groundwork for a recruiting drive to increase its workforce in a number of departments.

Team Director Lawrence Stroll recently attended the groundbreaking ceremony ahead of the start of construction on the team’s expanded factory.

Aston Martin is a company that traces its roots back to the Jordan Formula 1 team and still operates in the same facility that Eddie Jordan founded in the early 1990s.

It has competed under a variety of different names over the years, most recently Racing Point, and has been considered a small team capable of beating beyond its weight.

Internally, there is now an attitude that has nowhere to hide, and new investments give it the means to hold its own with the biggest names in the sport.

With this surge in funding comes similar expectations, with Stroll suggesting the British brand will be a title contender by the middle of the decade.

Previously, it was suggested that the team should fight for victories in 2023.

“How long does it take? I think it’s hard to say. If you just look at other teams, then a horizon of five years is probably not a wrong approach,” says Vettel when asked about the project’s stated ambitions.

“I think it’s no lie that you want to do it sooner.”

The investment in Aston Martin came at an ideal time as F1 prepares for a restart in 2022.

In recent years, new regulations have offered the greatest opportunity to overturn the pecking order.

Coupled with cost cap regulations and the need to offset spending for 2021 versus investing part of this year’s cap in development next year, the rule change is seen by many teams as an opportunity.

“Next year there will be a big reset, with the cars, from which we do not yet know what to expect at this point, anything could happen,” argued Vettel.

“There is a good, real chance of taking a big leap from where we are now.”

Of course, Vettel hopes to be part of a successful streak, although at 34 he is much closer to the end of his career than the beginning.

“I’ll be there in ’23, I don’t know,” said the German when asked whether he will still be with Aston Martin or even in Formula 1 in two years’ time.

“Will this be the last station or the last team? I do not know.

“That’s the truth right now, and it’s not in focus right now.

“The focus is still on this year and on trying to collect as many points as we can and using or building the momentum for the next year.

“Then we’ll see what’s going on with all the new cars and new things.”

Since joining Aston Martin at the beginning of the season, Vettel has finished second in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

It was the standout moment of the season for the team that finished seventh in the constructors’ championship, 32 points behind AlphaTauri and 39 ahead of Williams.

In 2021 there are still five races left, the next is the Mexico City Grand Prix from November 5th to 7th.