Vettel: No shortcuts for Aston Martin in bid to regain lost time

Sebastian Vettel claimed he is "well prepared" for his Aston Martin debut but admitted there are "no shortcuts" to recover from a lack of pre-season testing.

Vettel, who has joined the team from Ferrari, completed just 117 laps of running in the AMR21 as reliability problems meant Aston Martin had less running than any team other than Mercedes.

Lack of track time has put the team on the back foot heading into this weekend's season-opening race in Bahrain.

Vettel said: “There are no shortcuts but I think there are a lot of things that you can prepare, and we do, so that is why I feel well prepared.

"We have to make the most of the time that we have to get in the best groove for qualifying. When the race comes around there is not much time to hang about.”

The two Friday practice sessions have been cut from 90 minutes to just 60 minutes this season, giving Vettel even less time to get fully acquainted with the car he has named 'Honey Ryder' before the action hots up.

"I think the challenge is not to get used to everything in three hours of practice," he added. "I think the challenge is to try to overcome that little amount of time in the car and make sure you get the most out of it.

“We will all be more expert in driving the cars that we drive this year after 20 races or 23 races than just before the first race."

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