How Sebastian Vettel rates his fourth place in Friday practice for the Formula One race in Canada and what is different than usual at Aston Martin
It’s a bit of a Formula One sensation with Sebastian Vettel finishing Friday practice for the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal in fourth place in the Aston Martin AMR22, just three tenths behind the leaders. The German himself described this as “surprising” on ‘Sky’.
The decisive factor was above all that he had “confidence in the car” today, said Vettel. “Then you can get a bit more out on the track.”
And the track, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, has taken a liking to the four-time world champion: “I think it’s great,” says Vettel. “It’s really fun somehow. “
Vettel almost a second ahead of Stroll at the end
He promptly got to grips with the AMR22 in Canada. “We had a few things we wanted to try. We managed to do that,” said Vettel. “Whether they are really better now or not, I’m not so sure yet. But at least everything has worked out so far.”
In the first practice session, Vettel had already finished ninth, just under nine tenths behind the leaders, about a tenth and a half behind his Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll, who was seventh. Vettel then stayed almost a second ahead of Stroll in the second practice session.
Vettel explained: “In the first practice I didn’t quite get the lap right. In the second practice it was much better. And I hope we can improve [the car] a bit more for Saturday. And then we’ll see what’s in it. “
Fast lap bought with qualifying set-up?
Aston Martin specifically did not run with a qualifying set-up on Formula One Friday in Montreal, says Vettel. “We were actually running as we always do. But I don’t know what the others did.”
His team eventually put a second set of fresh tyres on his car, “at least for one [flying] lap”, according to Vettel. “Because we suspect it might be wet on Saturday. Even if it’s not wet, then it’s only one lap. Maybe that distorted the picture a little bit, that we had one more lap [on a fresh set of tyres]. “
“I think the track was a bit better when we went out again. We were one of the first at the beginning. And as I said, when you have the confidence, you can get a bit more out of it. “
Ralf Schumacher: B version pays off
‘Sky’ expert Ralf Schumacher also attributes Vettel’s performance to the modified AMR22, saying, “The B version seems to be getting more and more into the swing of things. Here also with both [drivers]. Stroll was not so much [to be seen] in the second practice now, but he was quite decent in the first.”
These are important signals with regard to Vettel’s sporting future in Formula 1, Schumacher continues. Vettel certainly draws “motivation” from such results.
Will Vettel therefore decide to continue? “I’m not quite sure, because ultimately it’s up to him,” says Schumacher. “It’s a matter of feeling. Does he see a future here in the subject, is it moving forward, does the team want to continue working with him? All these questions will be answered then.”
“I wish [Vettel’s stay in Formula 1] for Germany, but I can also imagine that at some point he will say: enough is enough for me now. “
