Aston Martin team boss Otmar Szafnaur believes that Sebastian Vettel is “99-plus” percent after nine races in his first Formula 1 season with the team.
Vettel’s life with the Silverstone-based team started slowly as the team struggled with problems during pre-season testing and a lack of pace made the Germans pointless after the first four laps.
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Three points in a row, including a podium in Baku, have brought Vettel into the top 10 of the drivers’ standings and although two zero points followed in Austria, Szafnauer is convinced that the four-time champion is now part of the team.
When asked whether Vettel is 100 percent at Aston Martin, Szafnauer replied: “Yes, I mean, I think he’s 99 plus.
“Seb is probably coming more but he’s very comfortable, he works well with the team and works hard to get more out of the car so we’re really happy with him.”
On the reasons for the team’s recovery, he added, “I think there were a couple of things. First of all, if you remember, we didn’t do much in the winter tests, we had some reliability issues, we also had a driver change and Sebastian is getting more used to the car, he started giving us points.
“We also liked some of the tracks we raced a little bit better and we improved the car, so I think it’s a combination of all of those things.
Aston Martin does not prefer a driver for upgrades
Last season, as Racing Point, Lance Stroll received the only upgrades to the RP20 at Mugello that were preferred over the outgoing Sergio Perez.
However, Szafnauer insisted that there is no specific driver for new upgrades, adding, “We make these decisions race after race, we try to move the parts as best we can for the benefit of the team.
“If there is only one of them, we’ll give it to the driver who we think will attract the most.”
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