Sebastian Vettel was left disappointed after the Spanish Grand Prix, having suggested that his Aston Martin was running to "Formula 2 qualifying pace" in the race. The team brought an extensive upgrade package to the weekend, which proved to be a big talking point due to some similarities to the Red Bull RB18. An FIA investigation cleared Aston Martin of any wrongdoing but, in terms of the performance on-track, the updates failed to deliver. Both Vettel and Lance Stroll exited qualifying in Q1, and the pair lined up in P16 and P17 respectively on the grid. Whilst Vettel occasionally found himself running further up the order during Sunday's Grand Prix, he eventually finished the afternoon out of the points in 11th, and Stroll came home in 15th.
Vettel: The car felt poor
Speaking after the race, Vettel admits that the team had not achieved their goal. "It was hot in the car," the four-time World Champion told media, including RacingNews365.com . "With 11th we are not taking any points, which was the target." Vettel feels that the AMR22 lacked pace throughout the Grand Prix, and also believes that the very warm conditions in Barcelona had an impact on grip levels. "I think for everybody the car felt poor, because it was so hot and so slippery with the tyres and we were going so slow," he explained. "We were doing Formula 2 qualifying pace in the race, but we managed the tyres better than most."
Still "work to do" for Aston Martin, says Vettel
In terms of where Aston Martin go from here, Vettel thinks that there is room for improvement with the new upgrades. "There's still a lot of work to do with this new package," the German driver said. "We knew it wouldn't be a massive step forward right away, but we believe it's the better direction for the future." Additionally, when asked about the team's "controversial" updates, Vettel responded: "Why is it controversial? Who says that? "I think Red Bull says that, but not really other people."
Most read
