Breaking news
Formula 1
Vettel not beating himself up over Aston struggles
Aston Martin Formula 1 team boss Otmar Szafnauer insists that Sebastian Vettel is "not beating himself up" after a difficult start to the 2021 season.
Adam Cooper
Edited: Apr 29, 2021, 12:01 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The German has been outpaced by teammate Lance Stroll in the first two races, having qualified 18th in Bahrain, and 13th at Imola.
Last weekend's Emilia Romagna GP proved to be a disaster for Vettel. Both drivers had an issue with overheating brakes in the laps to the grid, but while Stroll was able to take the start from the grid Vettel's car had to be pushed to the pitlane because repairs could not be completed in time.
In addition, he received a penalty because the team was still working on the car, with the wheels off, too close to the start. During the race Vettel also suffered a gearbox issue, and he was told to retire the car in the closing laps.
"I think he's fine," said Szafnauer. "I think he has very high expectations. I know he has very high expectations of himself. And he will work tirelessly to get better and move up that learning curve.
"But he's not beating himself up, so to speak. He'll just take that bit of frustration, and he'll be even more determined to get up to speed quickly.
"I mean, not his fault at all that we unfortunately burned his rear brake ducts and cake tins, and then it was so close to actually replacing them on the grid without without having to start from the pitlane, and then the penalty.
"After that, he had no chance really, and that wasn't his fault."
Read Also:
- Vettel missing ‘last bit of confidence’ with Aston Martin
- Vettel senses 'positive' response from Aston over F1 struggles
- Vettel: FIA "not very professional" in dealing with Imola penalty
Along with other drivers who have switched teams for 2021, Vettel has struggled to find the limits of his new car.
"Well, if the car philosophies are completely different then it does take time," said Szafnauer. "And having talked to Checo [Perez] too, he's gone to a Red Bull, which has a different philosophy to ours. And he says the same, that it's just gonna take seat time to be able to get to those fine, fine margins of getting the most out of the car.
"And it's just that simple. The more seat time the better. Seb, because he had the penalty, he was never really in contention.
"But after he put the dry tyres on, he was doing some really quick lap times. So I think he's getting on top of the car, and it'll just get better better."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Red Bull Powertrains hires Mercedes man as technical director
Next article Williams explains Latifi's step forward in performance
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Apr 10, 2024
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1 Apr 10, 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1 Apr 10, 2024
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel gives update on F1 future as he opens up on life after retirement
Formula 1
Formula 1
Azerbaijan GP
15 d
Sebastian Vettel gives update on F1 future as he opens up on life after retirement
Sebastian Vettel: F1 must combine “things we love” with sustainable future
Formula 1
Formula 1 23 d
Sebastian Vettel: F1 must combine “things we love” with sustainable future
More from
Aston Martin Racing
“Even faster than Ferrari” – Fernando Alonso grabs Aston Martin’s best result of F1 2026
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
8 d
“Even faster than Ferrari” – Fernando Alonso grabs Aston Martin’s best result of F1 2026
What the drivers are expecting from F1's return to Sepang
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
12 d
What the drivers are expecting from F1's return to Sepang
Latest news
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
2 h
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
3 h
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 3 h
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
3 h
Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe