Sebastian Vettel bowled over by "futuristic" Aston Martin

Aston Martin

Vettel bowled over by "futuristic" Aston Martin

Team launch stunning AMR22

Ian Parkes

Thursday 10 February 2022 15:47

Sebastian Vettel was left bowled over by Aston Martin's AMR22 he has described as "futuristic" as the showed off its "real" challenger for the new campaign.

Following Haas' renders of the VF22 and Red Bull's 'show car' RB18, Aston Martin took the wraps off a true 2022 challenger to usher in F1's new era aerodynamic era.

Casting his eyes over the car, Vettel said: “Look at that car, who wouldn't feel excited about the prospect of racing that?

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“I like the look of the new cars and the reasons behind the rule changes all make sense. The cars do look quite different and almost futuristic."

Vettel feeling a responsibility to deliver for Aston Martin

Naturally, four-time F1 champion Vettel is refusing to make any predictions as to how he and the team will fare this season.

Vettel added: “I think it is always exciting whenever you have such a big change in the regulations.

"It is not something that happens often so, as a driver, you always have a bit more curiosity when you come back from the winter break.

“For me, it is year two of a project with big ambition. I see that in everything that is happening around me, especially the investment in resources and facilities.

"I feel the responsibility to deliver for everyone here and my motivation is very high.

"The test in Barcelona will be the real eye-opener. I always say that your first day in a new car tells you what kind of year to expect and until then my prediction is a bit pointless.

“What I do know is that our attention has been on 2022 for a long time because new regulations are an opportunity to take a good jump forward.

"But I am sure all teams are thinking the same and we cannot underestimate them, so I am keeping my feet on the ground and I think the favourites remain the same.

"I prefer to be realistic rather than making bold predictions. We will soon find out how good our car is and I hope we can have a nice reward for everybody’s hard work over the last twelve months.”

Stroll hoping Aston Martin has "done a better job"

Team-mate Lance Stroll sees the regulation change as "a big opportunity for Aston Martin", particularly after the difficulties of last season when the team was hampered by a rule tweak over the winter.

"We just have to believe that we have done a better job and I know that everyone involved is working unbelievably hard to give Seb and me the best chance," said Stroll.

"At the same time, we have to be realistic heading into the new season. Our main aim is to move nearer the front than we were last year. That would be progress.

"As Seb said, it is impossible to know where every team will be until we all get on track, and even then you might not know who has really got it right until qualifying in Bahrain.

"Aston Martin has some really clever people so I am optimistic we can make good progress this year.”