With all the car launches now behind us, it’s time for teams to hit the track for the pre-season tests as the start of yet another exciting F1 season looms. Aston Martin, who made quite the car launch on March 3rd, revealed their driver lineup for the tests in Bahrain that commence from March 12.
Taking to Twitter, the Silverstone-based team confirmed when Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll will be hitting the tracks with the brand new AMR21. With pre-season shortened to just 3 days this year, as opposed to 6 days in 2020, Vettel and Stroll will only be able to test the car in three sessions each. No team will be allowed to have more than one car on the track during each session.
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Who’s ready for @F1 Testing? Here’s how our line-up looks. 👀 ⬇️
FRI AM ➡️ #SV5
FRI PM ➡️ @lance_strollSAT AM ➡️ #SV5
SAT PM ➡️ @lance_strollSUN AM ➡️ @lance_stroll
SUN PM ➡️ #SV5 pic.twitter.com/0Ze5gFU04y— Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) March 11, 2021
Four-times world champion Vettel will be the first of the two Aston Martin drivers to hit the track in Bahrain. He will open the team’s pre-season testing schedule on March 12th for the morning session. Stroll will then get his shot during the afternoon/evening session of the same day.
For day 2 of testing, the order for both drivers remains exactly the same. The German driver will start off day 2 for the British team in the morning before Stroll takes over in the next session.
On March 14th, the third and final day of testing, the order is reversed. Stroll will get first dibs on the AMR21 on Sunday, piloting the car in the morning. Thereafter, Vettel will take over for the final session of pre-season testing.
Aston Martin can stake their claims in pre-season testing
Sebastian Vettel filming for Aston Martin in Bahrain today (again with his pink helmet)!
📸 : @KymIllman pic.twitter.com/GDx8D7Aehp
— tami. (@Vetteleclerc) March 11, 2021
The Silverstone-based outfit is touted to have the third-best car on the grid. However, fans will only be able to see if these claims are indeed true during the testing window.
More often than not, teams don’t reveal their full potential in these tests. So it will be difficult to make an accurate measurement of the team’s performance. But if Aston Martin tops the timesheets in a few sessions, they may turn a few eyeballs.
If not title contenders, they could certainly let the other teams in the mid-field know who the boss is. It’ll be interesting to see how the iconic British brand performs in its comeback year after 6 decades.
Also Read: 2021 F1 Liveries Ranked: Alpine, Aston Martin Steal the Show as Red Bull Disappoint
