515 days have passed since Sebastian Vettel last reached the top step of the Formula 1 podium, while it has been three years since he clinched multiple victories in the same season.
A remarkable statistic for a driver who rose to fame after an impressive breakthrough for Toro Rosso in a wet GP in Italy in 2008, before claiming four consecutive world titles between 2010 and 2013 with the third-highest Grand Prix wins of all time.
But after leaving Ferrari, after ultimately failing to deliver a long-awaited championship title to Scuderia and going through a subsequent spiral of poor form riddled with some well-documented, high-profile mistakes, Vettel is trying something new along the way Salvation.
Aston Martin has set some ambitious goals after being renamed Racing Point. Owner Lawrence Stroll wants to establish his team as world champions in the years to come. It’s a project that Vettel finds very attractive and that the team believes will help the 33-year-old German rediscover his earlier spark and mojo.
“We can offer him an environment in which the race is fun again and in which it is a pleasure to be in Formula 1,” said Aston Martin team boss Otmar Szafnauer in a recent interview with German Auto Motor und Sport. “That’s exactly why most of us do this job. He will get the best out of us and we will get the best out of him. “
Szfanauer noted that Vettel brings a champion mentality to the team, which finished fourth in the Constructors’ Championship in 2020 and won its first Grand Prix at the Sakhir race in Bahrain, which underpins the competitiveness of its RP20 car the team is in broadcast this season.
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He also said the Aston Martin team has figured out the signing is like “having a performance engineer behind the wheel,” with Vettel digging up important new information quickly.
The four-time world champion visited the team’s Silverstone headquarters for the first time last month and immediately made an impact by making suggestions to help engineers understand what data he needs to steer the set-up of the car in 2021. Aston Martin believes this can also benefit teammate Lance Stroll, who took his first pole position and two podiums last year.
“We can still learn so much from Seb and improve as a result,” explained Szafnauer. “Lance can also benefit from him. The reverse is also true. Lance is very talented and fast. Together they can take our team with them.” a higher level.
“We want to make the most of the races, including winning. That is what it is for us and that is what Sebastian is about. Our racing philosophies are 100% the same. That is why we will work very well together to optimize our performance.” ”
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And Vettel already seems to be thriving in his new environment, in the midst of the smaller facility and operation at Aston Martin, which he also experienced during his Toro Rosso days.
“There will be a lot more to come,” said Szafnauer. “Sebastian has only been with us for a few days and has already given us this useful feedback in such a short time. And he has not even driven our car!”
“Sebastian is already pushing us. He is very curious. He keeps asking us: Why are you doing it this way and why not doing it differently? In just two days he had so many questions.
“He suits us very well. We have the same philosophy of how we want to race. Performance is our top priority. We strive for the fastest possible car. This also applies to other areas, such as the pit crew.
“Seb also shares his experience – that’s what we need. We want to turn every stone around to improve our performance so that we can say in March that we have made the best of our opportunities. Both Seb and us as a team. Me see no lack of motivation. “
Szfanauer insists that Aston Martin’s goal for 2021 has to be third place and he sees no reason why the team with Vettel at the wheel can’t fight for more victories.
“We want to start the season like we left off the last,” he added. “We had the third fastest car for a long time, but we were only fourth behind McLaren. We were unlucky. We need more consistency in the standings, and if we can do that we can finish third. That has to be our realistic goal.” .
“I think we should get out of the starting blocks quickly and fight for podium places. If things go our way, like in Bahrain or Turkey, we should be able to put the car on pole position and have a chance of some race wins. “
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