Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believes Sebastian Vettel should have taken a year off from Formula 1 in 2021 instead of joining Aston Martin.
After being dropped by Ferrari last year, four-time F1 world champion Vettel explored a number of options before ultimately signing with the rebranded Aston Martin squad for 2021.
Vettel endured a difficult debut for Aston Martin in Bahrain. After being knocked out in Q1 and receiving a grid penalty, the German driver finished 15th after a clash with Esteban Ocon that landed him a 10-second time penalty.
Aston Martin struggled to battle at the front of the midfield in Bahrain as it did throughout last year, with the team believing the updated regulations had hurt its low-rake car concept.
Asked about Vettel’s struggles, Marko said he had not changed his view that the former Red Bull driver should have taken a year out before returning under the new regulations in 2022.
“I was of the opinion, I told you that too, that he should take a year off, sort himself out, ask himself what he wants,” Marko said in an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com’s German language sister site Formel1.de.
“I believe that a lot is possible within Formula 1 next year. He didn’t do that. Now he sits in the Aston Martin, which of course suffers similar to the Mercedes [with low rake].
“They are very similar cars. And this race was far from being the one that could have brought relief.”
