Aston Martin’s History of ‘Mediocre Cars’ Behind Vettel’s Problems: Ex-F1 Driver

Aston Martin’s struggles this season continue, as both their drivers finished outside the points at the Spanish Grand Prix. Lance Stroll finished P11 while Sebastian Vettel finished P13, despite getting new upgrades.

Their Mercedes-inspired challenger is all over the place at the moment. Even though they exceeded all expectations in 2020, they have been nothing short of poor this season. Vettel has barely troubled the Top 10 si far, and an ex-Formula One driver believes that the team’s history has something to do with it.

Sebastian Vettel joined a team with a history of ‘mediocre cars’ – Surer

Former F1 driver Marc Surer thinks that although Vettel‘s caliber speaks volumes, he joined a team that had one outstanding season in a history of mediocrity. The car’s current state is the major reason for the German’s struggles this season, according to Surer.

The Swiss said, “He certainly did everything right. The problem is the team’s history. They only ever built mediocre cars. And last year they suddenly had a top car. He thought I would jump up. But they had a 100 percent car Mercedes copy.” (Quotes translated from German by Google)

Although he put a major part of the blame on the car, he also pointed out that a new team means new people, which can take time to get adjusted to. He said, “This is due to the lack of test drives. In addition, there is no cooperation with the team engineer. They have to find each other first. This interaction takes longer than I thought.”

The level will rise in this team: Surer

Although the situation looks bleak at the moment, Surer is optimistic that the Monaco Grand Prix can restore the four-time world champion’s season. With Vettel saying he felt more comfortable with the car this past weekend, Surer thinks that feeling may help him stitch the season back together.

He said, “That could be a good sign for Monaco. The future looks bright. You have hired new people. The level will rise in this team.” 

Vettel is yet to score his first points of the season. Can he bring joy to the British team at the Monaco Grand Prix?