Sebastian Vettel has said he is “excited” to start working with the Aston Martin F1 team after switching from Ferrari for the upcoming 2021 season.
The four-time world champion also said he is “at peace” after a tumultuous six years with the Italian team but said he has “high expectations” for the new season and new team, saying: “I am not happy with last year in terms of performance – partly my performance – but I accepted it.
“There are things that didn't go well, but I am looking forward to this year.”
Vettel, one of the most successful F1 drivers of all time with 53 grand prix wins, was unceremoniously dropped by Ferrari before the 2020 season had even got underway, and now the German has a shot at reinvigorating his career in the Mercedes-powered AMR21 Aston Martin car.
Vettel will be racing alongside Canadian driver Lance Stroll – son of team owner and Aston Martin majority shareholder Lawrence Stroll, in a car that has been strongly compared in terms of design to the title-winning Mercedes.
The new AMR21, like the Racing Point RP20 before it, looks not dissimilar to Mercedes' W12 car.
The AMR21 features the Mercedes' 2020 gearbox and also rear suspension, which Aston Martin bought from the world championship team in addition to their engine and use of their wind tunnel, a legal transaction but much to the chagrin of other F1 teams.
2021 marks the first time Aston Martin has raced in F1 as a constructor in more than 60 years, and the car and branding of the team is a strong nod towards the British marque's pedigree and racing heritage recognising its “traditional racing colours and glorious sporting legacy”, a team statement said.
Lance Stroll paid tribute to his father's transformative influence at Aston Martin and talked up the team's prospects of competing at the front of the F1 grid, saying: “He [Laurence Stroll] has given the tools to the incredibly talented people in the factory. Now we can move forward and there are exciting times ahead of us.
“The potential is there to fight up at the front, perhaps even challenge Red Bull. Mercedes are going to be very difficult because they are a bit further up the road and hopefully we can increase the gap over the teams we were fighting last year.”
61-year-old billionaire Lawrence Stroll took over the Aston Martin sports car company last year, bringing a much-needed cash injection to the business to keep it afloat, and consequently decided to rename his Racing Point F1 team after the brand as a marketing exercise.
Stroll, Executive Chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda, said: “The team who designed and built our new Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One car – the 500 men and women who conceive, manufacture, build and prepare our cars so that we can go racing at the pinnacle of global motorsport – has always punched above its weight. Now, as the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team, it has the power with which to punch even harder.
“This is just the beginning. The team is pushing forward, and our ambitions are limitless. We now have the pieces in place, the people and the partners, to make real progress.
Keyword: Sebastian Vettel is "excited" to get started as Aston Martin unveil their 2021 F1 car