Vettel: 2022 Aston F1 car a “completely different animal”

The four-time world champion finished the second day of testing in Barcelona on Thursday in sixth place overall, 1.1 second off the pacesetting Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

Vettel admitted that he and the team still have a lot of learning to do about the way the AMR22 has to be driven and set up.

“In all honesty, there's still an awful lot to understand,” said Vettel. “It's a completely different animal and it wants to be tamed in a different way. That's driving the car, but that's also operating, in terms of set-up.

“We've tried a couple of things. There are some major challenges, like others are also facing, and problems. So yeah, we need to find solutions.

“There's still a lot to learn for me with a car that wants to be driven in a different way, and I'm playing with driving styles, what I can do. Equally we are playing with the car, we are trying to solve some of the problems that we have, the challenges we face, find solutions. So there's still a lot to do.

“Everybody's flat out, there's still a very, very steep and high mountain to climb. I can't say at the minute we're seeing the peak, but I think the challenge is fun, and the belief is there that one day we will reach that peak, hopefully just before the season.

“I think it's going to be a long year anyways, and everybody's probably in the same boat in terms of learning these cars and having certain troubles. But so far, all is good."

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, in the Press Conference

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Vettel conceded that there is a lot about the new car that he found alien, even with his vast experience of different eras of the sport.

"It's very different,” he said. “It's a very different position in the car. It's different what you