A month before his eventual move to Aston Martin, Sebastian Vettel had been spotted getting into team principal Otmar Szafnauer’s car. Vettel had earlier also shared an ‘elbow bump’ with team owner Lawrence Stroll in the paddock which had created quite the buzz.

Speculation further suggested a transfer was on the cards at a time where the 33-year-old German was still weighing up all his options. But Vettel had explained back then that he had gone to a gas station with Szafnauer after boarding the latter’s Ferrari Pista car.

The 56-year-old himself was asked the question recently, to which he gave a response similar to Vettel’s. In doing so, he once and for all put a rest to what was a burning subject of discussion back in the day.

Sebastian Vettel was apparently going off to do some mountain biking in Wales, said Szafnauer

Szafnauer explained, “We drove to the gas station because of the car I was driving, and he had a similar one. He doesn’t have a similar one anymore! Because he sold them all.”

Otmar and Sebastian have known each other for quite some time now, owing to their presence in the Formula 1 paddock. That they consider one another a good friend has already set the foundation for a solid relationship at Aston Martin for 2021 and onwards.

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He continued, “But, yeah, that was the reason for the drive. And I think he was going off to do, if I remember right, some mountain biking in Wales and his direction was the same direction that I was going in.”

“And we were both stopping at the fuel station. So he said, ‘Well, I’ll jump in with you.’”

Vettel has great expectations from himself first up at Aston Martin

Having witnessed Racing Point’s incredible rise to a Top 3 contending team, Vettel will feel that he can do something special there which has now been rebranded as Aston Martin. The four-time F1 champion will target consistent Top 5 finishes, podiums, and most importantly, race wins with his new team.

To match up to his expectations, the outfit, which will continue to be powered by Mercedes, offers much promise in 2021. With the third fastest car on the grid last season, Aston Martin’s aim for this campaign remains simple, and that is to secure P3 in the standings.

Therefore, both Vettel and Aston Martin will be keen to take to the track in Bahrain in just about a week’s time. Rest assured, everything seems set up for an eventful 2021 for both the driver and his new team.

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