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Sebastian Vettel had a disastrous weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Starting the race in P20 after a yellow flag infringement during qualifying, the German never came close to competing for points. To add to his misfortune, Vettel clashed with Esteban Ocon in the dying stages of the race, getting a 10-second time penalty which dropped him further down the grid. Sebastian Vettel finished the race in P14.
The German also accumulated 5 penalty points on his super license, three for his qualifying infringement, and two for causing a collision in the race. The four-time world champion is now 7 penalty points away from a race ban.
Also read: Every penalty point Formula 1 drivers have going into 2021
Reflecting on the race, Sebastian Vettel revealed he was struggling with the car throughout the weekend.
The 33-year-old German said:
"There are a lot of things that we learned in the race that we need to address. We’ll see how quickly we can fix them. I’m not at home in the car, there are a lot of things fighting me so that I can’t really focus on driving."
Speaking about his struggles with the car, Sebastian Vettel said:
“We need to address them and try to fix them. I obviously adapt to how the car wants to be driven, but there are a lot of things that add a certain inconsistency that doesn’t help so these things we need to get on top of. We tried a lot with the car and with the set-up and there are a lot of things that still don’t work the way they should. Once we fix them and we get on top of the set-up, we’ll know where the car wants to be fast, then it can only get better.”
Not the start of the season I wanted: Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel accepted that this was not the start of the season he was looking for. As a four-time world champion on a mammoth contract with his new team, the German has expectations placed on him. However, Vettel is not delivering the performances that suit a former world champion.
Speaking about keeping the team motivated despite poor results, Sebastian Vettel said:
"Well it’s part of my job, but it’s also part of my job to drive the car and race well, which today I did not."
The German remains hopeful of a better showing as the season progresses, but in an extremely competitive midfield, every weekend counts.
“It’s probably not the start of the season I wanted but I think the next couple of races will be very good for us to calm things down.”
It has been a shocking start for Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin. Fans will hope the German can recover some semblance of the form he showed when he won four consecutive championships between 2010 and 2013. Aston Martin need the German to deliver if they want to make the case for 'best of the rest' this season, after narrowly missing out last year.
