'You can't turn a cow like Aston Martin into a tiger overnight'

Ralf Schumacher says in an interview withSport Bild that Sebastian Vettel's performance in particular needs to improve if Aston Martin are to achieve that goal.

"Sergio Pérez was always two or three tenths faster than Lance Stroll last year in the same conditions and with the same cars. When I see Pérez now at Red Bull duelling with Max Verstappen, it should be easy for Sebastian to be consistently faster than Stroll. He needs to achieve that if he wants to move the team forward."

Internal problems at Aston Martin?

At least that's what Ralf Schumacher claims. "From what I hear, there are a lot of internal problems at Aston Martin. Some engineers have left disappointed and now new people are being recruited. Aston Martin's goal must be to compete for the world championship in the near future. Otherwise, Lawrence Stroll will be asking himself the question: how long can he afford to keep his son in the seat?"

Speaking of the team's wealthy owner: Schumacher makes it clear that Stroll cannot single-handedly take Aston Martin to the top. "At first glance, it seems like a smart move to take a shortcut to the top with Lawrence Stroll's money. The one thing that is forgotten is that you also have to take the employees with you on this road. You can't turn a cow into a tiger overnight."

For this year at least, that top is not going to be reached. Starting next year, when the rulebook changes and cars change, those chances will start to increase a bit.