Sebastian Vettel says he is “happy to help” Lance Stroll at Aston Martin, calling past criticism of him “not fair”.
The four-time world champion is seen by many as the lead driver at the Silverstone-based squad, despite only just arriving from Ferrari.
And in terms of the dynamic between himself and Stroll, Vettel concedes he is very much the senior of the two drivers.
“Well, it’s very clear I’m the old guy and he’s the young guy! Not only from the passport but I think I have a lot more experience,” Vettel, who begins his 15th season on the grid this year, said via F1i.com.
“He has a lot of talent and raw speed, and I think he still can learn a lot.
“I’m happy to help, I’ve never been hiding anything from any teammate in the past so I don’t see why I should start doing this now.”
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At the same time, Vettel believes the perception of some that Stroll is simply where he is because of his father is untrue.
“In terms of speed I’ve never raced beside him so we’ll see, but I think some of the stuff he’s been going through is not fair. I think he has proven many times that he’s very quick,” he continued.
“I think if you just take the pole position in Turkey, those were probably one of the most difficult track conditions I ever faced in 14/15 years of Formula 1.
“To not just stay on track but also nail the lap, and he managed to get on pole. So there needs to be a lot of talent to be able to do that.”
On the flip side, Stroll was quick to pick up on Vettel’s eye for detail but acknowledged it was still early days in their partnership.
“He (Vettel) is very knowledgeable when it comes to the behaviour of the car, what he wants from the car, and just his comments are very wise,” the Canadian explained.
“He has a lot of experience and is a very talented driver obviously. It’s still early days though, I’m sure I’ll get to know him much better in the next few weeks when we start to go racing and we’re on the track at the same time doing similar programs.
“We’ll probably be able to relate to each other’s comments and give our feedback and have a much better idea about what we’re both talking about.”
And while it might appear learning would be a one-way street in terms of Stroll from Vettel, the three-time podium finisher thinks otherwise as Seb is the new guy at Aston Martin.
“I have a couple of years under my belt with this team, so I am definitely a lot more familiar with this car and how this team operates than he is,” Stroll said.
“He’s still getting up to speed with a lot of things and learning a lot about how this team operates and how this car operates, a lot of new buttons, a lot of new things going on for him.
“We’re in different positions, but I’m sure we can guide this team in the right direction and get the most out of the car this year.”