Former McLaren F1 driver David Coulthard has referred to Sebastian Vettel as a "fading star" and believes the German is fortunate to have displaced Sergio Perez at Aston Martin. Vettel who himself was unceremoniously dumped by Ferrari prior to the start of the 2020 Formula 1 season, failed to impress during his final year with the Prancing Horse. Despite this, the German secured his F1 future with Lawrence Stroll's Aston Martin Racing project, something Coulthard believes was unfair to Perez. "I think that no one wanted to see him (Perez) lose his position in Formula 1 to a fading star like Sebastian Vettel," Coulthard told the On the Marbles podcast. "There's no question there was no flashes of brilliance from Sebastian last year. He's certainly been there done that. But in terms of winning the races and the championships, that's all historical information and this is a fast moving sport. "But somehow, Lawrence Stroll and his team have seen something and said that they believe is better for that team than Sergio." Coulthard went on to describe how he was happy to see Perez land on his feet, stating that the Mexican will be better equipped to handle the challenges of driving for Red Bull, better than previous incumbent Alex Albon. "I think it's great, that Checo has got the opportunity," Coulthard continued. "It was painful at times to watch Alex (Albon) try to come to terms with Formula 1 Life, spotlight of pressure and expectation. "Even if Checo is doing the same relative laptimes he'll handle it in a much better way, because he's got the benefit of age experience. "And he'll just accept that Max is something special if that's the case, if he matches him it's a validation of him as a Formula 1 driver that you know, I was pretty quick." Given the struggles of the Aston Martin team this year, it seems like Perez was the big winner in this particular game of musical chairs. However, the Mexican will have his work cut out for him if he is to impress his new bosses.
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