Aston Martin F1 Boss Reveals Eye-Opening Similarities Between Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll

In a sport where your teammate is your greatest competition, being compared to a four-time world champion would be thrilling. But is it as it seems? Aston Martin F1 boss Otmar Szafnauer compared his drivers, Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel, and held them at par with each other.

When pitlane lights go green on Saturday, Sebastian Vettel usually out-qualifies his teammate. Making his debut season with Aston Martin this year, Vettel has also stood on the podium twice. However, Szafnauer made an interesting observation about his drivers.

“It’s a little bit the circumstances. Lance and Seb are pretty much on par when it comes to performance.” Although the German had hit a bit of a speed bump in the middle of the season, the Seb we know and love has made his way back to the spotlight. Otmar had added, “recently it seemed to be more in Seb’s direction.”

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Lance Stroll and the champion’s race results may be significantly different, as Szafnauer reflected that the tide is often against the Canadian. However, when it comes to speed, there is almost nothing differentiating them. “But when I look at the lap times in the race when I am free, they are pretty close.” 

A deeper dive into the Aston Martin drivers

Sebastian Vettel may lead the battle for Aston Martin, with Stroll often finding himself in trouble despite good moments on the track. Szafnauer associates Vettel’s rise to him growing more comfortable within the team.

“Maybe the circumstances come from the fact that he feels more comfortable in the team and has the experience that you have as a four-time world champion.”  Vettel who stands 12th on the driver’s board, is ahead of his teammate who sits in 13th.

To illustrate, the Brazilian GP sets the perfect example. Vettel leads the pack, fighting hard for points in and out of P10. Although Lando Norris walked away with the point, Vettel claimed that it could have been different. “The Virtual Safety Cars did not help us and cost me a position to Esteban [Ocon]. Without that, it would have been a different race.”

Contrarily, Stroll ended his race early with a DNF; as he did in Mexico. Having collided with Yuki Tsunoda earlier in the race, his Aston Martin eventually gave up to retire to the garage.

However, with Otmar confident in the pace of his drivers, the final three races should present a good opportunity to finish the season with more points in the bag.

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