Formula 1 Saudi Arabia GP
Vettel: Aston Martin "miles away" in Jeddah after surprise Q1 exit
Sebastian Vettel was surprised to struggle so much in Formula 1 qualifying on Saturday, believing that Aston Martin is “not a good match” to the Jeddah track.
Luke Smith Adam Cooper
Edited: Dec 5, 2021, 3:06 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Vettel finished a lowly 17th in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, only beating teammate Lance Stroll and the Haas cars to leave Aston Martin as the second-slowest team.
Vettel sounded disappointed over team radio when his engineer confirmed he had only finished 17th, lapping over two-tenths of a second shy of a Q2 berth.
Aston Martin had also featured towards the lower end of the practice session results, but Vettel was surprised by its struggles as nothing had changed on the AMR21 car since Qatar.
He put Aston Martin’s weaknesses down to tyre prep, a challenge several teams have struggled with this weekend, and the Jeddah street track not suiting his car.
“It’s the same car, so I think we are just not a good match to this track,” Vettel said.
“I struggled a bit to get the tyres to work, but I think so did everybody. So it's not efficient, I guess, around here, and doesn't play to our strengths.
“The laps feel good. The balance, once we get it, is OK, but we are miles away, and then you look at the onboard from the others.
"There’s no secrets, they are just faster.”
Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Vettel was caught up in a traffic jam towards the end of Q1 as a number of cars bunched towards Turn 27 ahead of their flying laps. The backing-up was sparked by Valtteri Bottas, who was running slowly due to an engine misfire before he ultimately got back to the pits.
“[There were] too many cars in the same spot of the track and cars not able to queue,” Vettel said.
“Some of them [were] passing. It doesn't matter. But in the end, it was two Alpines that passed and everything started to be a mess. You run out of track and there's a car coming from behind and at that point it is carnage.
“I was happy that I got the lap. Nikita [Mazepin] behind me was side-by-side down the main straight and he aborted, so it could have been me the other way around and you don't even get the final shot."
Read Also:
- Mercedes unsure why Red Bull was so quick in Saudi F1 qualifying
- Why Saudi’s F1 track has avoided street circuit chaos...so far
- Mazepin didn’t want FP3 incident to impact Hamilton’s F1 title bid
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Why Saudi’s F1 track has avoided street circuit chaos...so far
Next article Perez: Saudi Arabia F1 circuit is unnecessarily dangerous
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Luke Smith
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
Formula 1
Formula 1
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Formula 1
Formula 1
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Formula 1
Formula 1
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
More from
Sebastian Vettel
Why Daniel Ricciardo would consider a comeback at Le Mans
WEC
WEC
Why Daniel Ricciardo would consider a comeback at Le Mans
Sebastian Vettel reveals why BMW didn't want him – but Red Bull did
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sebastian Vettel reveals why BMW didn't want him – but Red Bull did
More from
Aston Martin Racing
Why Honda’s power unit lasted barely five laps in F1 Mexico GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
Why Honda’s power unit lasted barely five laps in F1 Mexico GP
Fernando Alonso 'beyond frustration' after engine issue in F1 Mexico GP qualifying
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
Fernando Alonso 'beyond frustration' after engine issue in F1 Mexico GP qualifying
Latest news
Kyle Larson, Cliff Daniels and the Hendrick 5 are who we say they are
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
15 min
Kyle Larson, Cliff Daniels and the Hendrick 5 are who we say they are
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
4 h
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
4 h
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
5 h
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
Feature
Discover prime content
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Formula 1
By Pat Symonds
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe