'More to come' from Vettel after 'productive' first day with Aston Martin F1

Sebastian Vettel is confident there’s ‘more to come’ in terms of performance after his first extended outing for Aston Martin in Formula 1 pre-season testing.

After six seasons with Ferrari, Vettel switched to the rebranded Aston Martin team for 2021.

The German was in action on the first morning of testing in Bahrain before handing over to teammate Lance Stroll in the afternoon.

Vettel completed 51 laps on his way to 13th overall in the final classification, over three seconds behind Max Verstappen who set the pace.

Reflecting on his first official outing for Aston Martin, Vettel said his focus was on getting used to his new surroundings and adapting to the AMR21.

“It was very productive,” Vettel said. “Obviously you said first proper morning and that’s what it was, the right tyres - obviously the glimpse before was really just to check the car, check the seat and make sure we get the most out of these days.

“There’s still a lot of new things I need to get used to. Obviously the car is different, it’s run differently, it’s a different power unit, lots of different switches, buttons, procedures, but also in terms of handling, the car is different, so different approach. And basic stuff, steering, brakes, the car behaviour I’ve got to get used to.

“So there’s still quite a bit of margin for myself, and improvement that I have to do on driving, just getting familiar with the car. But it’s been, in all honesty, quite a tricky morning, because it’s very windy, and the grip was quite low. I think everyone was facing the same track conditions, but still it was very, very good for me to get a proper read, as I said, on the car and getting used to new elements for me.”

It’s the first time in Vettel’s F1 career he’s driven a car with Mercedes power, having driven with Ferrari (Ferrari, Toro Rosso) and Renault (Red Bull) engines previously.

Speaking about his first experience driving with a Mercedes engine, Vettel added: “It’s obviously different, it’s operated differently, so a lot of dry stuff in terms of operation, running, is different to what I’m used to. That’s mostly for me to get up to speed.

“But obviously in terms of performance, everyone knows the strength of the Mercedes engine, so on that front we don’t have an excuse, so looking forward to it.”