F1 | Azerbaijan GP, ​​Aston Martin: Sebastian Vettel's comeback

"Has it been a good day. I'm over the moon. For the team it's fantastic, obviously, a podium. We didn't expect this when we came here. Already on Friday I felt good in the car. I was quite relaxed. Yesterday [Saturday] we didn't manage to get a good result, but today [Sunday] is even sweeter.” This is how Sebastian Vettel described his feelings after taking second place in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, thus obtaining the first podium in his new adventure with Aston Martin. A great satisfaction for the four-time world champion who, after the good performance in Monte Carlo, repeated himself on the streets of Baku, continuing on that path of growth and adaptation to the single-seater that he had set himself even before the start of the championship , thanks to the low mileage pre-season tests and a car that even the team itself had not been able to fully understand.

The first podium of a new route, making him the first driver on the grid to win a trophy with three different teams in the hybrid era. A result as beautiful as it was unexpected, because the British team itself most likely did not expect to be able to finish the race by bringing home its best placing of the season and the first recognition of this adventure. What had seemed evident since Friday, however, was the fact that the drivers felt overall satisfied with the behavior of the car and that the team had work to do above all from a race perspective, given that it had been the only one to try the harder tire in the simulations on Friday, which everyone else had put aside until Saturday morning, when they realized that its use could be the key to the Grand Prix. Having concrete data on the use of that particular compound and not virtual ones could undoubtedly have given the engineers a hand in planning the race strategy, which would later prove to be the Silverstone Scuderia's winning weapon.

When the traffic lights went out, despite some slippage of the rear tires when switching between first and second gear, Vettel had been very clever in exploiting all the spaces available to him, identifying a hole on the outermost line to slip into, taking advantage of thus the fact that Lando Norris in front of him was more focused on defending himself from Valtteri Bottas' attack on the inside than from that of the German on the opposite side. In one fell swoop, the four-time world champion was able to gain two positions, even if the Finn's counterattack was not long in coming, thanks to a more internal trajectory when braking at turn two, which allowed him to appear again in the German's mirrors. A line, however, that was far too narrow: it was true that the Mercedes driver managed to come alongside his Aston Martin rival during the braking phase, but at the same time, having to travel that stretch of the track with a lot of steering angle, after moreover, having attacked the curb very aggressively, destabilizing the car, the exit acceleration phase could not have been as effective as that of Vettel, who in fact had an easy time getting to the front again and thus regaining the position. Once the Bottas chapter was concluded, Sebastian began looking for his next goal, namely the eighth position occupied by Yuki Tsunoda, the AlphaTauri talent who for the first time this season had managed to achieve a Q3 placement: the Japanese, however, was able to defend himself admirably, quickly closing the door in all those points where Vettel could have thought of launching an attack to quickly complete the practice.

Although overtaking the young Japanese rival could bring benefits from a strategic point of view, the British team's representative was well aware that his race would not be played out immediately, but rather over the long distance and this had been seen since the early stages, as well as in Monte Carlo. By observing his behavior in some areas of the track, in fact, it was possible to observe how Vettel lifted his foot from the accelerator in the potentially most demanding points to avoid excessive stress on the tyres, aware that his objective would be to exploit the rubber new for as long as possible, in order to complete a significant offset compared to its rivals and, in the best case scenario, complete an overcut on whoever was in front of it. This behavior was particularly evident in the traction zones with a gentler progression and in turn thirteen, one of the most demanding on the track for the tyres. Observing the telemetry, in fact, it is clear that the German raised his foot even above 50%, not so much due to dirty air, but precisely to preserve the tyres. To this end, Sebastian was constantly updated via radio by his race engineer, who provided him with a numerical indication, as a union of different parameters, to understand how much he was pushing and how much margin he still had available, a custom that the four times world champion he had already experienced in his years spent at Ferrari and which he then took with him into his new adventure at Aston Martin.

What seemed evident in the first five laps was the lack of pace of Fernando Alonso, who at the time was in seventh position. The Spaniard, capable of achieving an excellent placing in qualifying, however did not seem capable of repeating himself in the early stages of the Grand Prix, so much so that he saw the group in front of him escape, thus losing the opportunity to defend himself with the use of DRS. Difficulties that did not allow him to defend his position for long, first from the Japanese driver from AlphaTauri and then from the German driver from Aston Martin, so much so that at the end of the seventh lap he was forced to return to the pits to replace the tires and fit a set of hard tires with which he would have had to complete a very long stint until the checkered flag. Having overtaken Alonso, Vettel knew that it would be a long chess game in which patience would be needed, because from then on several drivers in front of him would imitate the Spaniard, thus leaving the field open to be able to push in clean air. Racing for a prolonged period in the wake of one's opponents, in fact, could have compromised the tyres, a factor to be absolutely avoided for the German who, during the ninth lap, had been the author of what would prove to be his only mistake during the course of the race. whole day: approaching the braking at turn seven, in fact, the standard-bearer of the English team had managed to lock the front right, fortunately managing to avoid the impact with the barriers with a last-second recovery. The problem in itself was not so much the time lost compared to Tsunoda, which was still limited, but rather the state of health of the tyres, on which Vettel himself had subsequently worked hard to reassure the engineers regarding their conditions, while this The last few were busy understanding what the most valid tactical decision was for the second part of the race.

From this aspect, it would have been fundamental for the strategists to understand what their driver's pace could be on a free track. An opportunity that was created only a few minutes later when, after Tsunoda's entry into the pits, Vettel had free rein to impose his own pace which, in fact, had slowed down, demonstrating how the German from his could have something more than its closest rivals. The time had therefore come to take advantage of the new soft that the team had decided to use for the first stint, initially leaving some doubts, given that many would have expected a more lasting solution like the average one could be. Regardless of the result, however, Friday's simulations had shown that the difference in terms of degradation between the softer compound and the intermediate one was not that high, thus suggesting that the teams could have decided to focus on the banded tire red keeping in mind not only the difference in performance between the two compounds, but also the drop in temperatures expected for Sunday, a factor which should have helped in limiting the wear of the tyres. Furthermore, there was a third element to take into account, namely the ease of warm-up of the soft compared to the alternatives, which could have proved to be an important factor in the starting phases, where the risk of experiencing a lack of grip and a possible loss of positions could have compromised the race. It was no coincidence, in fact, that the majority of riders outside the top ten had opted for that compound, beyond specific cases such as that of Lance Stroll, who had instead decided to try a strategy completely different from that of the others being forced to start from the back row.

Thanks to a series of extremely fast laps on a 1:46 pace, Vettel was able to slowly build up that useful window to complete the overcut first on Alonso, who after his pit stop was stuck in traffic, and then also on Tsunoda and Sainz, with the latter having been the protagonist of an error with cold tires after his stop. The fact that Sebastian had not only managed to maintain constant times, but also more competitive than the others, demonstrated how he could have something more on his side in terms of pace, an element that would prove fundamental in the second part of the race. Although he could potentially continue for a few more laps given the excellent pace maintained not only against those on whom he had already completed the overcut, but also against his next targets, specifically Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc, during the eighteenth lap the team had decided to recall the four-time world champion to make what would have been his only stop, in the hope that the lap difference created with his rivals would give him the opportunity to attack at the end and gain further positions in the standings . A call that actually surprised with its timing, considering that the German was still recording extremely convincing times, with which he could have continued and virtually reduced the gap from those in front of him, at the same time increasing the offset in terms of use of the tires for the second stint. Answering a question on the matter in post-race interviews, Vettel gave his perspective: “It's a tough call. We knew that the first stint would be long, so I obviously focused on maintaining the tires as best as possible from the first laps and then taking advantage of that. The tires were feeling good and I was happy to be out. I told the team, but I think the team had identified that there was a nice window for us to pit. I felt straight away that maybe we could go a little faster than Charles, but I also wanted to make sure I kept the tires in good shape at the start. There was probably room to stay out a little longer because the pace was still good with the soft tire and it was a surprise. I think judging by how early the other riders came in, no one expected the softs to last so well, but today, for us, they did and I think we managed to exploit them well and extend as much as we could. It's always easier to talk later, but I think we obviously wanted to be sure of the position and get into the gap that had stopped, or stay in front of the people who had stopped before, before they got into a rhythm," the second-place finisher then explained at the finish line. .

After completing his pit stop, Vettel was back on track about three seconds behind the group ahead of him, made up of the Monegasque from Ferrari and the Frenchman from AlphaTauri. From the first stages of the second stint, however, it seemed clear that the German seemed to have something more on his side in terms of pace, despite the track engineer having advised him to preserve the tires for the first seven/eight laps in order to to be able to extract the maximum potential on the finish. A suggestion immediately accepted by the four-time world champion who, in fact, in some points seemed very calm with the accelerator, adjusting the traction phase and lifting his foot in crucial points, such as turn thirteen. From this point of view, it is worth mentioning an interesting detail, which we had previously talked about: being able to understand from the car how much to push and how much margin you still have available is not easy for a driver, which is why generally the engineers from the pits constantly provide suggestions on where to improve or where to lift your foot. One of the methods that the German has built with his pit technicians over the last few years is to get a sort of score, based on different driving parameters and telemetry, thanks to which it is easier to understand if there is still of the margin or if that particular stretch of track requires greater delicacy at the wheel. A tradition that Vettel then brought with him to Aston Martin, as clearly highlighted during the Azerbaijani event. An example could be found in turn thirteen, where during the twenty-second lap the track engineer had communicated to him "In turn 13 you recorded a 7, we don't want more than that", thus providing him with a virtual indication on how to manage himself autonomously in those very delicate phases. Although Sebastian was in a moment of management, in the space of a few passes following his pit stop he had managed to reduce the gap to Leclerc to under two seconds, stopping at a distance, partly due to the effect of the dirty air on a track like this is starting to make itself felt in a more important way, partly due to the need not to force the covers when there was still more than half the race until the checkered flag. What changed the cards on the table, however, was the accident of Lance Stroll, who, after a loss of pressure in the left rear tyre, ended up against the barriers on the long main straight, forcing the race directors to call the track the safety vehicle to remove the car, clear the path of debris and check on the condition of the Canadian, who was visibly shocked after such a violent and unexpected impact. Before the failure, in fact, the team had not found any signs that could suggest a possible sudden loss of pressure, so much so that in the lap preceding the accident Vettel was informed via radio that his teammate's tires were still in good condition despite the thirty laps completed, thus giving the green light to start pushing and get back into Leclerc's exhausts.

A key moment of the race would therefore have been the restart, in which Vettel could have made the most of his fresher tires and attempted to attack the drivers in front of him. Given the choice of the two leading Red Bull drivers to keep the group together until the finish line, thus effectively making it impossible to exploit the slipstream on the long main straight, staying focused and identifying the exact moment in which to get back into the rhythm would have been fundamental. From this point of view, Vettel had been perfect, keeping to a more internal line and anticipating by a few cents the moment in which to forcefully get back on the gas. On the contrary, Leclerc was slightly surprised, causing his tires to spin and losing the necessary inspiration to think he could put pressure on his rivals. In an attempt to immediately cover the Aston Martin standard bearer, the Monegasque had moved towards the inside but, at the moment of braking, a move by Pierre Gasly, who was in front of the Ferrari driver at that moment, had forced him to change direction again by moving outwards.

This had done nothing other than leave the inner door wide open in favor of the four-time world champion who, without too many compliments, had made the most of the opportunity by overtaking his former teammate. However, the hunt was not yet over, because after having dealt with the Leclerc issue, Vettel had another prey in front of him, namely that Gasly who for a few laps had also started to suffer from some annoying problems with the functioning of the Power Unit, not so serious as to completely change the course of the match, but certainly enough to be able to play their part during an attack or defense maneuver against the opponents. Although the team had authorized him to use the hybrid boosts to try to keep his rival behind him, the Frenchman had been unable to do anything against the difference in speed that was recorded on the starting straight in favor of the four-time world champion, who he had skilfully exploited the aerodynamic benefit of the slipstream to complete the overtaking and thus momentarily move into fourth position. In the space of a few laps, Vettel had also been able to put a small safety margin between himself and the Frenchman which would not have allowed the AlphaTauri driver to threaten again in the final stages of the race, without forgetting that, from his , Sebastian could count on a significant offset in tire wear, that is, seven laps compared to the Frenchman and nine compared to the Monegasque of Ferrari, in a phase of the race completed with a lot of fuel on board. Undoubtedly, it would have been difficult to think of being able to aim for the podium considering that the pace maintained by the three leading drivers was slightly faster than that of the Aston Martin standard-bearer, but the fourth place finish would still have represented a nice injection of confidence for the whole the team considering how the race had evolved up to that point.

What changed the cards on the table was the problem encountered on Verstappen's car, which, as had previously occurred on Stroll's car, had reported a sudden lack of pressure in the left rear tire, thus inevitably ending up against the barriers . A dynamic that had left great doubts regarding what could be the causes of the problem which, as the Pirelli manager later revealed, could be attributable to debris present on the track, which would have created cuts in the tread even on the tires. Sebastian Vettel: “We checked several sets and also checked the left rear tire of Lewis [Hamilton] and Sebastian [Vettel]. We found some large cuts, about 6/7 centimetres, deep but not enough to cut the construction of the tire (as occurred in the cases of Verstappen and Stroll, ed.). We could see the cut on the tread, but the cut was, in fact, just a cut, which is why we thought that debris may have played a role. We are on a street circuit, so debris often remains on the track and the carbon fiber is sharp,” explained Mario Isola. The decision to display the red flag to clear the track while waiting to restart from a standing start for what would have been the last two laps of the race had undoubtedly created several controversies, given that among the options available to the course directors there was also to complete the remaining laps behind the safety car. Even in this case, Vettel did not miss his point of view, underlining how the sport must not become excessively artificial: “I think, to be honest, it depends on which side you are on. I think if you have a positive result and gain positions, then you are happy about it. If, obviously, you're in the worst case scenario as today probably was for Lewis, then you're not happy about it. But in the past it has become more and more like this, more and more focused on creating a show, so I hope that in the future the races will be more exciting. I think today was probably an emotional race due to various things that happened and so on, but yes, I think we just have to be careful that it doesn't become too artificial and that we don't lose the roots of the sport," the Heppenheim driver then explained. in the post-race. That restart had on the one hand created opportunities, on the other fears, because defending that third position achieved with difficulty after the accident of the Dutchman from Red Bull would have represented a good injection of confidence for the team but, at the same time, the the opportunity to think about an assault on second position was not entirely so obvious, especially if the two in front would have battled it out to win the victory. An undertaking that was undoubtedly arduous and difficult to achieve, but which left hope, ready to take advantage of any opportunity that would arise in front of him. An opportunity that was immediately created on the restart, when Lewis Hamilton, intending to overtake Sergio Perez, had mistakenly pressed a button on the steering wheel, thus coming to a halt when braking in turn one and the following long one. An opportunity not to be missed for Vettel who, when the traffic lights went out, had skilfully managed to defend his position from the drivers behind him, who, after the red flag, had been able to align themselves with the German in terms of tire wear by replacing the train used before the interruption.

Although supported by an eventful Grand Prix, the second place finish represents a nice reward for the work carried out by the team over the weekend, which proved to be competitive and capable of competing with the other teams in the midfield. It is difficult to think that it will always be like this in the future, also given the particular characteristics of the latest events held, but the results obtained recently demonstrate how there is potential to be extracted in this AMR21, how there are the means and opportunities to succeed in taking a step forward after an extremely difficult start to the championship. The only discordant note of the weekend could be represented by the retirement of Lance Stroll, who had made a good comeback up until the moment of the accident, exploiting a strategy essentially the opposite of that which allowed Vettel to gain a precious first podium for the new colors of Aston Martin. Even before the start of the championship, Sebastian himself had made no secret that adapting to the new car would take time, but the hope is that the latest performances are that signal that, once all the pieces of the puzzle have been put together, the German is on the right path and can return to being a protagonist with a certain consistency, gaining some satisfaction.