Aston Martin still believed in Vettel's qualities: 'It's a shame'

Tom McCullough regrets Aston Martin's failure to give Sebastian Vettel a better car over the past two seasons. He tells that in a conversation with Motorsportweek.com. According to the British formation's performance director, there would otherwise have been more.

Vettel decided at the end of 2020 to leave Ferrari and take up a new challenge at Aston Martin. At his new team, the German hoped to achieve something great, but he did not get further than 12th and 11th in the drivers' championship.

Aston Martin on Vettel's departure

McCullough is convinced that Vettel still had it in him to perform at the top level, but that Aston Martin itself simply could not live up to expectations. Vettel then decided to retire from Formula 1 after two years.

"With Sebastian, whenever we gave him a car capable of a strong result, you had that confidence he was going go out there and deliver, which he did for us," McCullough confidently stated. Vettel's second-place finish in Azerbaijan in 2021 was proof of that.

"We didn’t always quite give him a good enough car; it’s a shame that he won’t be here to reap the reward of some of his hard work over the last two years." Next season, Aston Martin will continue with Fernando Alonso, who should take the next step with the team.