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Aston Martin getting two cars in the top eight of the Monaco Grand Prix was a rare bright spot in what is proving to be a difficult 2021 Formula 1 season.
But there has been a silver lining amid the team’s shattered hopes for the season in the form of Sebastian Vettel.
His performance during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend was excellent, probably the best we’ve seen from him since he took pole position for the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix with a stunning lap at Suzuka. He also has the air of someone who is, for all the team’s struggles, enjoying himself – and that is significant.
It’s impossible to know what’s going on inside Vettel’s head, but if that impression is accurate it’s an encouraging sign.
He was certainly very happy with his performance in Monaco, qualifying eighth and finishing fifth, having overcut his way past both Pierre Gasly and Lewis Hamilton.
“The first 10 laps were quite boring,” said Vettel when asked by The Race about his drive. “Sergio [Perez] pushed in the beginning but with no threat really.
“Then he backed off to save his tyres. I knew that those laps before the pitstop will be the crucial ones, and they turned out to be.
“I enjoyed the fact that I was on top of the car, could push when I had to and knew how the car would respond.”
That last point is significant given Vettel is among the drivers who have struggled to adapt to a new team with such little pre-season running. But even before Monaco, there had been some quietly encouraging signs for Vettel despite the fact he failed to finish better than 13th in the opening four races of the season.
After the bad start in Bahrain, falling in Q1 thanks to badly-timed yellow flags and then rear-ending Esteban Ocon needlessly in an accident that had concerning echoes of his spate of errors in his final Ferrari years, things have improved.
At Imola, he admitted he was still lacking confidence but drove solidly, albeit with his race ruined by a series of problems that followed a pitlane start triggered by rear brakes overheating.
In Portugal, despite lacking the new-specification floor available to Lance Stroll, he outqualified his team-mate for the first time and reached Q3. He slid to 13th in the race, but realistically had overachieved on Saturday. That was followed by a relatively anonymous Spanish GP weekend but he was only just off Stroll’s pace.
That’s hardly a catalogue of brilliance but Vettel at least was building a solid foundation. What was impressive in Monaco – where, as Vettel himself pointed out, your weekend is generally defined by nailing it across a few key minutes on Saturday and Sunday – was that he could unleash the pace exactly when he needed it.
That’s the Vettel of old, the driver with four world championships and 53 victories, capable of deploying searing speed when it really makes a difference. In Monaco, he was comfortably quicker than Stroll and despite the potential disadvantage of being in a middling car starting on softs, he did exactly what you’d expect of an on-form Vettel around the pitstops.
Vettel didn’t join Aston Martin to finish fifth on a good day. But despite the team’s unexpected struggles this year given the limitations of its low-rake concept, he does now appear to be at home with the team and settled in for the long haul. There were times at Ferrari when the weight of the world seemed to be on his shoulders, but as hoped his move to pastures new seems to have changed that.
It’s too early to say definitively that this move has revitalised him, but the signs from Monaco are certainly encouraging. The reason Vettel appealed to Aston Martin is that, when things are right, he can be spectacularly good. Monaco was the first time this year he showed that and, while it’s always possible it could be a one-off given it’s a unique circuit, the hope is that he’s settled and now able to deliver consistently.
If that’s the case, he’s certainly the right character to help Aston Martin through what is going to be a difficult season. Team principal Otmar Szafnauer recently recalibrated the team’s target, setting sights on fifth place – a position it took from Alpine courtesy of its healthy return in Monaco. But with the expectations still high for 2022, this is going to be a season to be endured rather than enjoyed.
Vettel, a charismatic, affable character, is ideal to ease the pain of 2021. He was always likely to fit in well in that regard, because he always does, but that needed to be backed up with good performances. Perhaps Monaco was the start of him delivering exactly that.
“I always had quite good results here, so coming in I knew that this track can make a difference,” said Vettel.
“But I’m happy for the team. After such a strong season last year and then a disappointing start in many ways this year, it’s what we needed and the guys deserve. Also, it’s a good signal to all the factory at home.
“Hopefully, this result helps us to just keep the spirit high, which it is, and maybe pick up a bit of momentum to have stronger races.”
Vettel is, of course, not Aston Martin’s only driver. Stroll has also had a solid season, picking up three points finishes in five races, so with both drivers making contributions there is at least hope for salvaging something from this difficult year while work on the all-important 2022 car for the new regulations is ongoing.
Both drivers need to be at the top of their game if the team is to beat Alpine and AlphaTauri – both of which have had higher peaks in terms of pace than Aston Martin – to fifth in the championship.
And if the Vettel of old is consistently part of that, then the team might just have a potential ace in the midfield pack on its side for more than the Monaco Grand Prix.
