Vettel is struggling with auto inconsistencies, says Aston Martin

Four-time F1 world champion Vettel moved to Aston Martin after leaving Ferrari in 2021, but was unable to score any points in his first two races.

Vettel was eliminated on his debut for Aston Martin in Bahrain in the first quarter and finished in 15th place. He qualified 13th at Imola before retiring late due to a transmission problem.

The German driver was overtaken by teammate Lance Stroll in both races and has spoken about his need to take the time to get up to speed with the AMR21 car and build his confidence.

Aston Martin team boss Szafnauer said Vettel was struggling with the instability of the rear when entering the bend, as he had not found enough alignment with the car.

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

“It’s a little bit here in particular [of] The instability goes into the corner at the back, but I think the biggest difficulty is the variability in it, ”said Szafnauer.

“So if it does the same thing over and over, you can go to the limit and stay there and go a little faster.

“But if it’s variable and you don’t know what to expect, I think that’s the problem.

“The more you drive a car, the more you feel it or with it, the more you can predict such things.

“It’s just a matter of sitting time.”

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Aston Martin was vocal about its struggles early in the season, due to the rule changes for 2021 that lowered downforce levels.

Szafnauer believed that Vettel’s lack of confidence in the stern was due to the lost downforce for 2021, but that upcoming upgrades would try to remedy the situation.

“This cure will come from a lot of good work in the wind tunnel and just bring new parts to the car in the next races to get some of the load back that we lost in the back,” said Szafnauer.

“That’s exactly where it comes from.

“There is a way. For example, you will see some improvements in the next race, and there will be some other upgrades after that too.

“So it won’t be the last.”