Aston Martin describe huge Sebastian Vettel influence in 2023 success

Fernando Alonso and guest Sebastian Vettel in Japan — Photo: © LAT Images

F1 News & Gossip

Aston Martin reveal HUGE Vettel influence in 2023 success

Sebastian Vettel helped Aston Martin improve in 2023

Cal Gaunt

Thursday 7 December 2023 17:57

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Aston Martin attributes much of their 2023 F1 season improvement to Sebastian Vettel's contributions in the year before.

Vettel raced for Aston Martin in both 2021 and 2022, with the team finishing seventh in the constructors' championship for both years.

And while the four-time world champion secured a podium just six races after joining, he experienced only one top-five finish in the subsequent 36 grands prix and retired from F1 at the end of 2022.

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This past season, Aston Martin significantly outperformed the previous year, scoring five times more points and achieving eight podium finishes with Vettel's replacement, Fernando Alonso.

Sebastian Vettel left a lasting impact on Aston Martin

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Vettel 'didn't have good enough car'

Mike Krack, Aston Martin's team principal, acknowledged that Vettel brought substantial contributions to the team, not only in terms of on-track performance but also in influencing working methods and overall team dynamics.

Aston Martin performance director, Tom McCullough, also highlighted how Vettel endeavoured to leverage his racing experiences with Red Bull and Ferrari to benefit Aston Martin and contribute to their improvement.

“When he joined us, he’d come from two championship-winning teams. At that time he brought a lot of small details,” said McCullough, as per RaceFans.

Tom McCullough says Sebastian Vettel 'brought a lot' to Aston Martin

“He is a relentless worker as well," McCullough said. "We often say the driver’s the best sensor in the car, and a lot of the development, you’ve got a wind tunnel, you’ve got simulators, offline simulations, CFD, [but] a driver whose backside’s connected to the car well can say ‘this is the phase of these kind of corners that I know we’re struggling maybe more than others’. And then that allows you to go dig into the data.

“For sure, we didn’t give him a good enough car over the two years he was here. By the end of his second year, we were making progress.

"But I felt for him that he’s not really got any of the benefit of this year’s car. Over the years that often happens.

"I’ve been involved with that process myself in the past.”

Aston Martin Sebastian Vettel constructors' championship