The Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team began its 2021 pre-season testing in Bahrain with Sebastian and Lance sharing the driving duties of the AMR21.
Sebastian was in the AMR21 as the first of the three test days began, before he handed the car over to Lance for the afternoon session.
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian climbed into the AMR21 for the morning’s four-hour session to give the AMR21 its first representative drive.
After two days of promotional running earlier this season – with no more than 100km of driving per day and conducted only on Pirelli demo tyres – this was the first chance for Sebastian and the team to collate significant data.
Sebastian drove the AMR21 in the tricky windy conditions but the session remained clear until a late red flag in the final 10 minutes.
The German undertook running on the Soft, Prototype and Hard tyres and completed a total of 51 laps and set a best time of 1:33.742 for P07 in the morning session, which became P13 at the end of the day following the faster afternoon session.
The session also proved vital in helping Sebastian continue to familiarise himself with the team, its operating procedures and the new car.
“It was a very productive morning and really the first opportunity we've had to truly put the AMR21 through its paces. As I expected, there's a lot of new things to learn.
"I'm working with a different power unit compared to the past, which means there are lots of different procedures involved, and then there are other things to get used to such as how different the handling is. Then there's a new steering wheel with all its buttons, different braking too - so I'm very aware that there's a lot to learn.
"The important thing is that I know where I need to improve. It was tricky on track because it was so windy out there, you could see that everyone out there was fighting a bit for grip.
"Today wasn't about lap times, it was about finding a good balance in the car and getting a true read on it while collecting lots of important data, which we managed by running 51 laps in the morning session.
"I'm looking forward to going over the data tonight and continuing to make progress with the car. I think we can say it was a good first day for the AMR21.”
Lance Stroll
Lance took over from Sebastian in the afternoon but was delayed initially by a minor electrical problem.
He would soon take to the track and was greeted by significantly different conditions to Sebastian’s in the morning.
The earlier threat of a sandstorm arrived just before the afternoon’s four-hour session and meant the track was covered in a thin layer of sand that affected lap times.
Lance would drive into the night-time conditions and complete a total of 46 laps, conducting the majority of his running on the Hard tyre.
The Canadian left it late to set his best time, touring in 1:31.782 to take P4 at the end of the day.
“It was a good start to testing today, I was happy with the balance of the car. It was really tricky out there and you could feel the effect of the wind on the run down to Turn 1 and you could feel the tailwind at certain corners too.
"I don’t think anybody found it easy out there. It’s early days to be making judgements on the car and we have to remember that this year there’s a cut in downforce, which you can feel in the car, and there are new tyres too. The important thing is that we made an encouraging start and it felt good to drive the AMR21.
"We spent the majority of today doing aero mapping and collecting plenty of useful data. It’s great to be back in the car and really feeling the energy of the team.
"It’s a new beginning as Aston Martin, we’re all really excited to get the season going and I’m enjoying working with Sebastian and getting to know how he operates.
"All in all, it’s been a productive session and I definitely enjoyed my day in the AMR21!”
