Vettel at peace with Ferrari departure: 'Whole year was a challenge'

The 2020 season was not one to look back on fondly for Sebastian Vettel. The performance in his final season at Ferrari was not particularly good, but Vettel himself has come to terms with it.

A challenge all year long

Vettel was beaten easily at Ferrari by his teammate Charles Leclerc and where he was in contention for the title in earlier years with the Italian team, the German managed to score just one podium finish in 2020. "In all honesty, the whole year was a challenge," Vettel acknowledged on Autosport.com.

"Of course I'm not happy with how last year went in terms of performance, totally my performance, but I think I've accepted it and I don't regret it," Vettel continued. "I know it was not according to my standards, which I usually hold myself to. I never really cared what people thought or said or, sorry, wrote. So that's why I think it's important for me to be at peace with that myself."

High expectations

This season, the four-time world champion will drive for Aston Martin. "I'm really looking forward to this year, and I have very, very high expectations myself," Vettel enthused. "It's clear that this year is a different situation for us and I think it's a big challenge. And we accept that. And we want to rise to the challenge and hopefully do better than we thought."

No less pressure

Although expectations seem lower at Aston Martin than at Ferrari, Vettel does not think there will be less pressure at his new team. "In fact, I put a lot of pressure and expectations on myself. So in that respect nothing changes, the satisfaction you get when you cross the line and you have done a good performance, you are the first and best judge of that. I don't expect it to change."