Vettel: Opening rounds ‘not fair reflection’ of potential

Sebastian Vettel believes the setbacks endured across the opening stages of 2021 means he has yet to show his potential with Aston Martin.

Vettel completed the least mileage of any driver during pre-season testing and endured a fraught opening round, dropping out in Q1, before colliding with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in the race.

Vettel’s prospects unravelled before the start at Imola owing to a brake fire, prompting a pit lane getaway, and he subsequently retired late on due to a gearbox issue.

It has left Vettel without a point in the standings.

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“We are fighting all the other teams and they are not on holiday so it is not an easy task to catch up,” he said.

“We are trying to do everything we can and I think the first two races we had are not a fair reflection of where I am, where we are, because I feel still that mileage in the car helps me get things together, to be able to string the laps together.”

Vettel added that he felt more comfortable in the AMR21 in Imola compared to Bahrain and that he feels increasingly confident with each stint in the car.

“Mostly it is the feel of the car, getting on top of the procedures and all that and just mileage in the car,” he said on making progress.

“Obviously how the race started [at Imola] wasn’t ideal and then it was difficult to recover but I think overall it was a better job and a better feel but hopefully we’ll have a clean weekend this time around.”