Vettel hopes Aston Martin can continue momentum in France after first F1 podium

The German has enjoyed an upturn in form in recent races, finishing fifth in Monaco before scoring his first podium since the Turkish Grand Prix last year in Baku. 

After enduring a “very rough start” to the season where he didn’t score a point in the opening four races, Vettel is sure he’s now on the right track.

Speaking after finishing second in Azerbaijan, Vettel said: “I think at the level that we are at it’s clear that everybody is able to drive a car very quickly so small things can make a big difference and yeah, probably took a little bit longer than I wanted to at the beginning of the season, to get on top of myself and adjusting to the car but yeah, I think I was confident that at some point it start clicking and obviously Monaco was great. 

“I think we had a good result there so that helps. You can argue that it takes off a bit of pressure but I think obviously the expectations in general are fairly high at the beginning of the year so it was good to get a good result and for here, I think we were fairly open-minded.”

Expectations were high for Aston Martin going into 2021 - as under the Racing Point name - it enjoyed its best season to date, finishing fourth in the drivers’ championship with a win and several podiums in 2020.

The change in floor regulations for this season appears to have hit low rake cars the hardest with Mercedes and Aston Martin not as competitive as they were last season.

Vettel admits he expected more going into the season but remains confident the team can continue its good form into this weekend’s French Grand Prix.

“We had a very rough start to the season,” Vettel added. “We expected quite a bit more after such a strong year the team had last year.

“I think I felt quite comfortable in the car all weekend, which for sure doesn’t hurt, so hopefully we can – similar to Checo – carry that momentum into the next couple of events. France will be a normal track so we will see where we are but hopefully we can fight for points a little bit more regularly.”