Vettel is hoping for a strong start to the season in Monaco for Aston Martin

Sebastian Vettel hopes his strong performance at the Monaco Grand Prix was a sign that his Aston Martin team is more of a threat this season.

Last year the team was extremely competitive in competition under the Racing Point name and had high hopes for a strong 2021 when it was renamed Aston Martin. However, the team only had five points on their name before Vettel’s fifth place in Monaco along with eighth place for Lance Stroll moved up to fifth in the constructors’ championship and gave the four-time world champion his first points of the season.

“I’ve always had pretty good results (in Monaco) so I knew it could make a difference this track, but I’m happy for the team,” said Vettel. “After such a strong season last year and a disappointing start to this year in many ways, I think that’s what we needed and what the guys deserve.

“It’s also a good signal to the entire factory at home – a lot is happening, but hopefully this result will help us keep the mood high and maybe gain some momentum so that we can do better races.

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“It’s very close in midfield, and if we find one or the other tenths, no matter where, it can make a big difference. It might be enough to get you into the third quarter. It might be enough in the race to stay out for a lap or try the undercut for it to work, and so on.

“If you look at the weekend, it’s probably only five minutes that really matter – the qualifying laps and the crucial laps in the race – but you have to have everything the way you can if you get that, on a like this narrow field like Here we are in the midfield. “

The key to Vettel’s result was a breathtaking bike-to-bike moment with Pierre Gasly exiting the pits, and he admits it was a close call as to who would get ahead.

Vettel

Gasly

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“I knew it would be tight, but this closeness is always difficult to predict. I always had a little nose in front of me and could see it, but not enough to tell how far ahead I was because it was almost next to each other – it was only a quarter of a car to half a car.

“And then it goes from left to right and I think he didn’t know if I saw him in such a way that he withdrew at some point. I gave him space, but I had fresh tires, I also went through the pickup, so not the most convenient way to get to the casino. “

That fight came after Vettel ran longer than Gasly and Lewis Hamilton to jump both cars, and says one of the most positive signs was how comfortable he was with the car.

“I enjoyed it because it is the time when it matters. The first 10 laps were pretty boring – Sergio (Perez) pushed in the beginning but no real threat and then he pulled back to save his tires and I knew those laps in front of the pits would be crucial – and they turned out to be. I just enjoyed being on top of the car and pushing when I had to and knowing how the car would react. “