Sebastian Vettel "over the moon" after Aston Martin score historic first F1 podium

Vettel, Aston Martin, Azerbaijan — Photo: © LAT Images

Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Vettel "over the moon" after Aston Martin score historic first F1 podium

Vettel finished second in a chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Ewan Gale

Sunday 6 June 2021 16:53

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Sebastian Vettel was "over the moon" after claiming Aston Martin's first podium in F1 in a highly dramatic Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The German, who started 11th, had run a strong race to make the top five heading into the final laps in Baku before red flags were thrown for race-leader Max Verstappen's high-speed tyre failure.

This gave Vettel the opportunity to make up more positions, with Lewis Hamilton forfeiting position by locking up into turn one at the restart before Vettel settled in behind eventual winner Sergio Perez.

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After struggling for pace with his new team until a fifth place in Monaco in the race preceding Azerbaijan, the four-time champion stated the result "means a great deal".

"It has been a tough start for us," said Vettel. "I think it was a good race. We had great pace, that was the key.

"I had a good start and made up some positions straight away and looked after my tyres as soon as everybody went to the pits, I had really good pace to overcut Yuki [Tsunoda].

"The restart worked brilliantly for me, I got another two positions there. We obviously had fresher tyres which helped late on. A great day, I am over the moon.

"For the team it is great. A podium, we didn't expect that when we came here but already on Friday, it felt good, I was quite relaxed and yesterday we didn't quite get it but today, even sweeter."

Vettel strategy pays dividends

By virtue of missing out on Q3 in qualifying, Vettel was able to use a fresh set of soft tyres in the race and extend his first stint.

After showing race-leading pace once the frontrunners had pitted to jump Yuki Tsunoda's AlphaTauri, Vettel used his fresher tyres to make more positions at the safety car restart after team-mate Lance Stroll's own tyre blowout.

"Strategy wise, obviously it is always better to start further up but the new tyre didn't hurt because other people had a couple of laps on them from qualifying so it helped us to go longer," Vettel added.

"We really preserved the tyres well and I think that was the secret for the pace we had.

"In the race, the car felt good and it was the key to keep progressing and chipping forward."