Otmar Szafnauer has been lauding the arrival of an enthusiastic and hungry Sebastian Vettel to his newly rebranded Aston Martin Formula 1 team. He believes fully that the Silverstone-based team will be able to recreate the scintillating form that we know Vettel can achieve.
Written By Ian Bruce, Edited by Aiden Hover
Following a meteoric fall from grace during his tumultuous time with Ferrari, Vettel will become the face that will help Racing Point complete their transformation into a more serious outfit.
Szafneur was deeply impressed with the four-times world champion after he made his first visit to the Silverstone based team last week to complete a seat fitting. He said in an interview, “The way I look at it is at 33 years old, you don’t forget how to drive a Formula 1 racing car fast. He definitely hasn’t forgotten how to do it, and the work ethic is still there.” “He’s really, really hungry to perform. We’ve started working with him this year already and you can see it. He asked all the right questions and a lot of them. He’s really hungry for knowledge.”
Vettel will be a great advantage to Aston Martin, as he is well renowned for his ability to understand his cars and provide excellent feedback to his engineers. Warmly known as ‘Inspector Seb’ by his fans, his new employers will be hoping that he can use those abilities to great effect.
Szafneur hopes that Vettel will ingratiate well with his younger charge, Lance Stroll, and form a strong partnership over the coming season. The team will be hoping that Vettel can help smooth out the rough edges that we currently see in Stroll and in doing so, they are hoping to achieve 3rd place in the Constructors’ Championship, having been pipped by McLaren in 2020.
Racing Point made massive steps forward last season, firstly due to a change in philosophy from high rake to low as well as the somewhat dubious copying of the Mercedes W10. By the end of the season, they had developed the concept quite far from its base and were amongst the fastest teams. It is hoped that the change of name will bring a new level of focus to the Silverstone-based team, along with the addition of the massively experienced Vettel. We can expect to see an interesting season ahead.