This was not the first Aston Martin certification session Sebastian Vettel had hoped for. After too many early woes in a disappointing final season with Ferrari last year, the four-time world champion suffered out of the Q1 way at the opening of the season in Bahrain – although bad luck was very much involved.
After worrying about the sharp end of the timesheet in practice, Aston Martin’s progress was of great interest in deserving. But while Lance Stroll finished making Q3 – finishing P10 – Vettel was hit into the relegation spots in the final moments of Q1 after ruining his last run when rookie Haas spun Nikita Mazepin in front at Turn 1.
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Afterwards, facing the P18 starter slot, Vettel explained his fear: “Certainly, we should be much faster. We just made it over the line and then, the issue was obviously with the yellow flags at the time of the lap so that would be a bit impossible to come back on, but this is what there now and we will try to see what we can do tomorrow. “
Sebastian Vettel is upset after Q1 ‘mess’ adding P18
When asked if he felt sorry that Mazepin had broken a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ by passing his car and others while the drivers waited ahead of Turning 14 to start their laps, Vettel said: “Yes but in the end I think the problem is we have to run so slowly to get the tires where we want them to be. they are so obsessed with the number of cars on the route that it is going to be a hoax.
“I had a lot of margins after the first lap where I made a mistake [Turn] 11. There was a lot of yellow in the second breast and we couldn’t make progress. ”
Despite what had happened, Vettel said he was going to stay calm: “If I was scared now would it help? If I was really upset? I am certainly upset and angry that we were not to blame in a way for not making it through, but we have to take it and do what we can, prepare for tomorrow.
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“I’m learning. I think the quali was good and it felt positive, obviously I only got a breast and a half, but I think there is still a lot of work ahead and I think you know You would have hoped for a better start but it is. Hope we have a good race tomorrow. I think we can come up a little bit and see what comes today. “
Vettel was knocked down in Q1 only once last year, in Monza. He is a four-time winner in Bahrain, but last year he could only manage P13. With a tough and tight field ahead of him, it may be difficult for him to get points on his first start at Aston.