Sebastian Vettel: Aston Martin “Needed” Monaco Result After Disappointing 2021 Start

When Sebastian Vettel joined Aston Martin for the 2021 Formula One season, he was looking for a new start. Admittedly, Aston Martin did not have the best start to their maiden F1 campaign.

Luckily, Vettel’s own form seems to have improved, and the recently concluded Monaco Grand Prix is a testament to the same.

The German finished the race in a fine 5th place and bagged the Driver of the Day award. Speaking after the race, he said, “Very good day for us to have both cars in the points. We can be very happy.

“I think we needed that, it was a very tough start for us, expectations were running high in the beginning after such a strong showing last year. It’s a good result, but we can’t expect that at every race, but Monaco is special.”

Sebastian Vettel on his duel with Pierre Gasly and Lewis Hamilton

Sometime during the race, Lewis Hamilton blinked first and pitted. Evidently, he was trying to pull off an undercut and move up the order.

Unfortunately for the Mercedes driver, it backfired and Pierre Gasly and Vettel got the jump on him. Needless to say, Hamilton was left fuming on the radio to the team.

However, there was a nail-biting moment when Vettel exited the pit lane, right as Gasly arrived on the scene. The Frenchman and the 4-time World Champion went wheel-to-wheel for a brief moment before Vettel muscled his way ahead. In the end, Vettel held firm to finish in a season-best 5th place.

Sebastian Vettel confessed that it was quite tight between himself and Gasly. He also said that he talked to the AlphaTauri driver, and he did not know if Vettel saw him.

Although the Aston Martin driver gave Gasly enough room, he knew that he had just slapped on some fresh tyres. In the end, Vettel emerged just ahead of Gasly, enough to give him track position over the French driver.

READ MORE: Monaco GP: Pierre Gasly Jokes Sebastian Vettel Battle Would’ve ‘Ended Up in the Harbour’