Four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel has said that he is really enjoying working with the Aston Martin team but that he felt the 2021 season could have perhaps gone better for them.

The former Red Bull and Ferrari racer joined Aston ahead of the 2021 campaign, with the hope that they would build on the strong 2020 season they had had under the Racing Point name.

However, aerodynamic regulation changes ahead of the 2021 championship hit Aston quite hard, and meant that they were largely stuck in the midfield battle rather than being able to challenge up nearer the top end of the pack.

Reflecting on the year recently, Vettel issued praise for his team in terms of the working environment but said that he had had higher hopes for the campaign heading into it:

“I think the team’s great; I really enjoy working with the team, and I think it’s been a big change obviously.

“But no in terms of the results, obviously. The whole team and myself, we were hoping for more. I think we got hurt quite badly by the regulation changes as the team had a great car [in 2020] but not [in 2021], so we did what we could.”

For sure, Aston would have liked to have had a better 2021 but there were still some high points including a podium finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The 2022 Aston will be unveiled on February 10th, meanwhile, as they look to make a jump up the pack as new sweeping technical regulations come into force in the sport.