Szafnauer: "Vettel is like a performance engineer sitting in the car"

Aston Martin's winter test was not without problems. Sebastian Vettel drove the least laps during the three-day test, but team boss Otmar Szafnauer has insisted the problems have been solved.

"We had some issues with the gearbox that stopped us for a little bit and some powertrain issues. But we understand them and put some fixes in," Szafnauer revealed during the first free practice session in an interview with Sky Sports.

New arrival Vettel brings much-needed experience to the team. "As a driver, he is like a performance engineer sitting in the car. In the short time, he has been with us, he has asked a lot of questions in order to short cut his learning to understand who we are and how we operate," the team boss revealed.

Together with Lance Stroll Vettel forms the driving duo at Aston Martin. According to Szafnauer, it is a strong combination with Stroll's talent and Vettel's experience. "The two will work together to improve the team," he concluded.