F1 News
Vettel: 'Ten years ago I probably would have panicked'
- GPblog.com
Aston Martin F1 Team looks back on the winter test with satisfaction, says team principal Otmar Szafnauer on the official website of the team. However, it wasn't all plain sailing. Where Lance Stroll was able to complete all his programmes, Sebastian Vettel had to deal with technical problems. On the second day of testing, he only drove 10 laps, but these issues didn't panic the German.
Panic doesn't help
Sebastian Vettel hasn't driven very many laps in the entire winter test compared to other drivers. This is not ideal, as he still needs to get used to the car and the team. More so than Lance Stroll. Vettel is not worried though, where ten years ago this might have been a different story.
So he says to Motorsport.com: "Maybe it's the age, maybe it's the experience, but probably 10 years ago I would finally panic now. But then again, if I were to panic now would it help? Probably not. We are just trying to do our things and use the time now we have. We still got some running, And for me it was super, super useful the laps."
He continued: "So, it could be worse. It could be better, but it could be worse. So I think it's about remaining calm, doing one thing at a time and moving forward when it's time to. The car looks promising, although there are still a lot of things I need to get used to. It's a new environment, with new people and a new way of doing things."
Getting used to the team
Getting used to the car is a very important part, but getting used to the team and people is also important. However, that takes more time for the professional, who does get along with the car. In that context, more time is always beneficial and he also states that it is common to need more than a day and a half to find the rhythm.
Vettel: "I have to adapt, learn, but that takes time and the more time you have the better. The day and a half of testing we have is crucial, but...it's quite normal that it takes more than a day and a half to find the rhythm and everything else." In short, the four-time world champion isn't really worried and is confident.