Sebastian Vettel is not happy with the current Aston Martin car, criticising it for its lackluster drag.
The Aston Martin AMR21 has had a mixed season. What was once the impressive Racing Point has become a shadow of itself even with the four-time world champion in its ranks. They have not been able to replicate their performance in 2020.
While their rivals have battled for podiums and midtable positions, the Aston Martin seems to be racing for places right below them. They sit seventh in the Constructors’ Championship, well adrift of their target for 2021.
Vettel is not happy with the Aston Martin car, and said that it isn’t as effective as he thinks it should be.
Speaking to Autosport, the former Ferrari driver said, “We had races where the race felt really good, we had other races where I struggled a lot.
“Overall, what matters is how competitive you are. In competitive terms, I think our car is a bit too draggy. We are not having a super-efficient car, plus we don’t have enough downforce. That I think is the main weakness.
“From there, it’s difficult to overcome that.”
Extra work
Vettel admitted that for him to be as competitive as his rivals, he had to do way more work on track.
“Some tracks helped it, other tracks we overcame it by maybe finding a good set-up and working well on tyres and finding a good strategy,” he continued.
“I think overall, when the car is in the window, then we can do a reasonable job and get into points. It’s first not always easy to get it into that window, and second, it’s extremely competitive in the area where we race.
“It seems like halfway through the season maybe other teams made a bit more progress than us now,” he concluded.
Read more: Vettel raises eyebrows by dodging question regarding Saudi Arabia – “Next question”