Preview of Formula 1 in 2021: If Vettel does not win, his career is over

In Formula 1, your most important opponent is your teammate and so at GPblog, we look ahead to the team duels in 2021. Which drivers will compete and what can we expect from that duel? In the seventh part, we take a look at the Aston Martin line-up.

Sebastian Vettel

At 33 years old, Sebastian Vettel is becoming one of the oldest members of the grid, but with a new contract with Aston Martin, he has made sure that he can stay in F1 for a while. The adventure at Ferrari went out like a candle after Vettel had started so well.

The question is whether Vettel will ever be able to hit that level again. He has certainly not forgotten how to drive, but the last two years at Ferrari can be called remarkable. In both years he lost the qualifying duel against Charles Leclerc, and also scored fewer points. In the first year that was strange because Leclerc was new to Ferrari and was only active in F1 for the second year. The gap got worse in his second year at Ferrari. 

Vettel may have let things go a bit in the second year alongside Leclerc who clearly has to become the new leader of Ferrari, but losing almost five-tenths per qualifying is a lot. The advantage for Vettel is that he gets a car at Aston Martin that is much quieter at the rear. The unstable rear is something that turned out to be impossible for Vettel to solve at Red Bull in 2014 and later at Ferrari.

Lance Stroll

With titles in the Italian Formula 4, the Toyota Racing Series and the Formula 3 Championship, Lance Stroll entered Formula 1 with a nice CV for a 'pay-driver'.

Stroll's performances on the track are getting better, though there are still plenty of inconsistencies. Yes, he has already been on the podium three times and is able to qualify quite well in the rain, but lost out to his teammate. 

In 2020 Stroll again lost the qualifying duel against Sergio Perez. Stroll scored fewer points, was on average over three tenths slower per qualifying. The fact that Stroll was able to keep his seat at Aston Martin over Perez has done little good to Stroll's image that he only has that place in F1 through his father Lawrence.

Forecast for 2021

In that respect, Aston Martin has the dubious honour of being the only two drivers in the line-up who lost their team duels in 2020 and 2021. Not exactly a choice you can be proud of, but one that can be understood. With Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin has brought in a billboard that has been in the picture more often in preparation for 2021 than Stroll and Perez have in all of 2020, and Stroll makes sense because his dad pays the bills.

In principle, you would say that Vettel should win the game in 2021. If a four-time world champion is unable to beat a pay-driver who has not yet been able to beat a teammate in F1, what are those titles worth? In that respect, the pressure is completely on Sebastian's shoulders.

Vettel ends up in a warm bath at Aston Martin. He's the hero again. He is once again the man around whom everything revolves. Under those circumstances, Vettel often thrives and with a car that is much more stable, everything seems in place to work on rehabilitation. If he loses this game, the career of the German may very quickly come to an end.

This article was written and originally published by Tim on the Dutch edition of GPblog.com.