Vettel makes Aston Martin debut as 2021 F1 car hits track at Silverstone
Sebastian Vettel has made his Aston Martin debut behind the wheel of the team’s new 2021 Formula 1 car, the AMR21, at Silverstone on Thursday.
Fresh from launching its first F1 car in 60 years during a star-studded virtual launch event on Wednesday, Aston Martin shook down its AMR21 challenger as part of a filming day at Silverstone.
It marks the first appearance in Aston Martin’s iconic ‘British Racing Green’ colours for four-time world champion Vettel, who joins the Silverstone-based outfit following his departure from Ferrari at the end of last season.
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Vettel and new teammate Lance Stroll shared driving duties at the British Grand Prix venue today as they put Aston Martin’s 2021 F1 car through its paces for the first time in an outing that is restricted to just 100km of running.
Speaking at the launch of the team’s AMR21 on Wednesday, Vettel said it was “difficult” to set a specific goal for the year ahead.
“Obviously, the team fought for third last year in the constructors’ and that’s sort of the unofficial goal - or maybe official goal - for this year, but people are hungry to win,” he added.
“I think it’s the first shot with similar money to anyone else on the grid, probably a rare shot, so it won’t be easy to catch up in a breath.
“But the ambition is definitely there to catch up, not just from Lawrence [Stroll] but from the whole team. So far I’m in and I’m happy to do everything I can to help.”
Aston Martin is the latest F1 team to run its new car on track, following McLaren, Red Bull, AlphaTauri, Williams, Alfa Romeo and Alpine in carrying out similar shakedown events over the past fortnight.
Mercedes, Ferrari and Haas’ latest challengers are not expected to make their track debuts until pre-season testing next week in Bahrain, which takes place between 12-14 March.
