Vettel “reborn” after first F1 podium for Aston Martin in Baku - Brawn

Vettel went from 11th to second to score his first podium since last season’s Turkish Grand Prix. 

After a tough start to the year where he was out-performed by teammate Lance Stroll, Vettel has enjoyed two strong outings in Monaco and Baku.

In Monaco, Vettel managed to overcut Pierre Gasly and Lewis Hamilton to finish fifth.

The four-time world champion’s resurgence comes after his torrid final year for Ferrari, where he finished 13th in the drivers’ championship.

Reflecting on the events of Baku, Brawn says Vettel has a “different vibe about him” and that’s resulting in better results on track. 

“Max did an imperious job, I can’t fault anything he did – and was ultimately unlucky,” Brawn wrote in his post-race F1 column. “Sergio was sensational, too, and Seb is having a second lease of life. It’s a close call, but for me, my driver of the day was Seb.

“It is a real pleasure to see him get going again. Seb’s had a tough last couple of seasons. I was one of the people who was uncertain about the decision Aston made in signing him up, but it’s looking to be a great call because of the way he’s driving and the results he’s getting.

“He’s reborn again. He’s refreshed. There’s a different vibe about him. And it just shows how the whole psychological aspect can impact performance. Seb has found himself in a much more comfortable place, with the right sort of pressure and with engineers who he is learning to work with. He’s getting results and he deserves it. Bravo.”

After the various tyre blowouts on track, Brawn has called for “calm” as Pirelli investigates the cause of the incidents.

“First there was Lance, and then Max,” Brawn added. “Fortunately both were unscathed after big accidents, which was great to see. Pirelli will carry out a deep investigation into what happened.

“One of the things with street circuits is that debris can often be a problem. We need to stay calm. Pirelli did a lot of work over the winter to give more margin with the tyres and the FIA made changes to reduce the aerodynamic downforce to give even more margin. Let’s be patient and await the results of the analysis.”