Sebastian Vettel says he’ll need to “throw himself” into the Aston Martin project when he arrives in January.
After six increasingly difficult years at Ferrari, the four-time world champion is gearing up for a very different environment as he assumes the role of guiding the current Racing Point squad into their new era.
Some believe the opportunity will reinvigorate Vettel, who has been in a difficult period the past two seasons, but with very limited testing, the 33-year-old knows it’ll take a lot of work behind the scenes to be settled by Australia.
“Obviously, 2021 should be similar in terms of the cars to this year,” he told MotorsportWeek.
“But I think it will be a big challenge for me to get on top of everything so come January, February I am going to throw myself into the project and to make sure I have understood all of the things that are there to be understood before the driving, the testing and the racing starts.
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“I don’t think there’s one particular thing [to get to know] or one particular person, to be honest.
“I think it will be getting to know the whole team, the rhythm, their working, trying to establish the differences and trying to contribute to make things better.”
As for his looming exit from Ferrari, Vettel admits, despite the tough times recently, it will still be tricky to say goodbye.
“In the end, it’s like a relationship,” he explained.
“I will miss the people. Obviously, the spirit, the idea, the legend of Ferrari. I’ve obviously been a fan since I was a small child being inspired by Michael [Schumacher].
“But I think when you are part of it and you get to know the people, you get to see behind the scenes, I think it’s going to be the people [that I miss].
“The good news is that I will still see some of them regularly next year even if it’s in a different way but still, the people will remain.”