Sebastian Vettel has endured a very frustrating two-three years in F1 now. Subsequently, he opted to change the atmosphere around him and join iconic upstarts, Aston Martin, for the 2021 season. However, his troubles at Ferrari seem to have followed him to his new team.

In the midst of this stunning slump in form, he has drawn a lot of criticism from fans and pundits alike. Former F1 champion Mika Hakkinen feels that the German should look to change that perception by communicating with the fans more often.

The starting point of the German’s troubles can be traced back to the 2018 season. He crashed out of the 2018 German Grand Prix when he was leading the race. This led to him ultimately squandering the lead of the championship to Lewis Hamilton. Consequently, he had to deal with a gradual loss in status and role within Ferrari, which led to the rock-bottom depths of the 2020 season.

Sebastian Vettel should look to improve his public impression with fans

Vettel is also known to be very secretive about his life beyond the grid. He’s not available on any social media platform, which causes a sense of mystique around him. Hakkinen believes that Vettel opening himself up a little more will allow the fans a glimpse behind the curtain.

In a video previewing the prospects of Aston Martin for the 2021 season (video translated via YouTube captions), Mika Hakkinen spoke about his personal relationship with Vettel.

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“I know Sebastian very well. Already many years ago, I saw how he speaks and where he focuses. He didn’t win four championships by accident. He’s very talented but with the amount of criticism he’s had, there is some reason for it. All that criticism didn’t come out of thin air.”

The Finn believes that the 33-year-old should improve his communication with the fans.

“But as a person, he is a really nice guy. Very talented. Something needs to be done to fix the communication. For the fans. To fix the situation. And show who Sebastian Vettel really is.”

Can the German improve on the worst season of his career?

There is a big fear that Vettel may have joined the right team but at the wrong time. Aston Martin has had a lot of problems with constructing a well-balanced car for the 2021 season. The AMR21 has a really unstable rear-end, which was evident when Lance Stroll struggled to get the car into Q3 on Saturday.

Vettel also seems to have brought the bad luck he had at Ferrari to Aston Martin. He was rather unfortunate to miss out on qualifying for Q2. But during the Free Practice sessions, the faults in the car were laid bare. How the team and Vettel collaborate to rectify the technical faults in the car will be very fascinating to watch as the season progresses.