Sebastian Vettel says he spent the opening morning of pre-season testing at Bahrain adjusting to his new surroundings at Aston Martin.
The four-time World Champion has switched to the Silverstone-based squad for the 2021 campaign following a six-year stint with Ferrari.
Vettel had a very brief run with the new AMR21 car at a Silverstone filming day last week, with his first proper experience with the challenger coming on Friday morning in Bahrain, before team-mate Lance Stroll took over driving duties in the afternoon.
Reflecting on his first official session with his new team, Vettel states there is still “quite a bit of margin” on the table as he continues to dial himself in.
“It was very productive. There’s still a lot of new things I need to get used to,” the German said.
“Obviously the car is different, it’s run differently, it’s a different power unit, lots of different switches, buttons, procedures, but also in terms of handling, the car is different, so [a] different approach.
“And basic stuff, steering, brakes, the car behaviour, I’ve got to get used to. So there’s still quite a bit of margin for myself, and improvement that I have to do on driving, just getting familiar with the car.
“But it’s been, in all honesty, quite a tricky morning, because it’s very windy, and the grip was quite low.
“I think everyone was facing the same track conditions, but still it was very, very good for me to get a proper read, as I said, on the car and getting used to new elements for me.”
Having previously run with the Renault and Ferrari Power Units during F1’s turbo hybrid era, Vettel is experiencing Mercedes’ engine for the first time in his career.
With the German manufacturer’s Power Unit often labelled as the most efficient on the grid, Vettel asserts that Aston Martin, who is one of three customer teams, has no excuse when it comes to engine performance.
“It’s obviously different, it’s operated differently, so a lot of dry stuff in terms of operation, running, is different to what I’m used to,” Vettel said.
“That’s mostly for me to get up to speed. But obviously in terms of performance, everyone knows the strength of the Mercedes engine, so on that front we don’t have an excuse, so looking forward to it.”
