The Silverstone-based team rebranded as Aston Martin Formula One Team starting from the 2021 season onwards, and many were excited for the return of the iconic name back in Formula One. Our writers have rated Aston Martin's performance in the 2021 season on a scale of 1-10, find out their scores and the logic behind them below!
Thomas
Overview: Aston Martin was the disappointment of this season. With two drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll, you can imagine how far they might go. Instead of great results, their highest finish was a second-place from Vettel in Baku. But let’s start in order. Their first four races were quite disappointing. But in Monaco it seemed they found the light at the end of the tunnel, scoring 5th place with Sebastian Vettel. In the next race, Baku, the German driver snatched an important second place, while his teammate crashed into a wall due to a tyre pressure problem. After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the British team became anonymous. Even if their drivers scored points, Aston Martin didn’t finish in the top 5 for the rest of the season, apart from Hungary, where Sebastian Vettel had been disqualified due to a team error, and Belgium, where they didn’t run.
Sebastian Vettel: Sebastian had a superb first part of the season, with 2 podiums (Baku and Budapest) and a top 5 finish in Monaco. In the second half of the season, the car was the seventh in development and the aero didn’t exist. Apart from this, the German managed to finish in seventh place in Mexico and get points in Saudi Arabia, before getting hit by Tsunoda and Raikkonen. In the midseason, he faltered a bit, but it remains an enjoyable season from Vettel.
Best Race: Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Despite a shocking qualifying (out for three-hundredths of a second), he managed to get a strong P2 and to achieve the best result of the year.
Season Rating: 7.5 / 10
Lance Stroll: It was one of his strongest seasons, in my opinion. Even though he didn’t get a podium this season, we must consider that he still managed to put his Aston Martin in the points, with an appearance in the top 6 in Qatar. His strong results show us that we can consider him as one of the top drivers of the midfield.
Best Race: Qatar Grand Prix. Despite a twelfth place in qualifying, he managed to finish in 6th, only behind Hamilton, the Red Bulls and the Alpines.
Season Rating: 6.5 / 10
Sasha
Sebastian Vettel: Sebastian endured a largely anonymous first season at Aston Martin, with the team failing to adapt to a relatively minor change in aero regulations, meaning the car was rarely able to compete for good positions. He managed to outqualify and outrace his teammate Stroll, which really was the bare minimum expected. Vettel showed glimpses of his former self with a strong performance in Monaco en route to P5, overcutting two drivers including Lewis Hamilton. Baku was an outstanding second-place finish, benefiting from the late-race chaos. He showed excellent tyre management skills in that race, as well as a great safety car restart. Hungary was bittersweet, as a race-long battle with Esteban Ocon proved fruitless, with a cruel disqualification from P2 due to a fuel level violation. Overall, a difficult season yet Sebastian still showed a few glimpses of his former self.
Best Race: Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Despite narrowly missing out on a Q3 appearance, Vettel showed fantastic pace and tyre management in the race, even leading the race for a few laps as he was last to pit. Pulled off good overtakes and thoroughly deserved his podium after the late-race drama.
Season Rating: 7 / 10
Lance Stroll: A very forgettable season for the Canadian, as his father’s team struggled to meet any of the high expectations placed upon them ahead of the season. Managed a few finishes in the lower points-paying positions, with his highest being P6 in Qatar. A difficult season to review considering the majority of it was spent being knocked out in Q2 and failing to make much progress in the race. Showcased some of his abilities at times, yet an entirely unremarkable season for Stroll.
Best Race: Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Squeezed himself into Q3, out-qualifying Vettel by a quarter of a second in Q2. Started P10 and handled the wet conditions of the race well to finish P7, before a post-race penalty dropped him to P8.
Season Rating: 6 / 10
Morgan
Sebastian Vettel: It was another tough year for Vettel, who was probably expecting Aston Martin to create a better car than they did. Still, after taking time (and making a lot of mistakes), he managed to extract a decent amount from the car, at least more than his teammate did. Vettel’s high point came at Baku when he finished P2, although one of his lower points came immediately afterwards when he was disqualified. Still, a number of impressive drives and points finishes were enough to convince people that maybe the four-time world champion hasn’t lost it - yet.
Best Race: Monaco Grand Prix. Vettel did well to get into Q3 and qualify eighth, and gained a free position from Charles Leclerc not starting the race. He then made up more places to finish fifth, scoring his first points of the season.
Season Rating: 6 / 10
Lance Stroll: It was a relatively anonymous year for Stroll, who didn’t manage anything particularly spectacular like his pole last season, but also didn’t make many mistakes and kept out of trouble for the most part. Most of his poor results can be chalked up to the performance of the Aston Martin, which was a disappointing car. While his teammate wasn’t a whole lot better, Vettel managed a podium in Baku (albeit only pre-disqualification), and also outperformed Stroll in qualifying 14 times to eight. Hopefully, a better car will allow Stroll to step out of the shadows and make some headlines in 2022.
Best Race: Styrian Grand Prix. After qualifying tenth, Stroll made his way up to sixth on the first lap of the race, passing the likes of Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc. Unfortunately, his car was not fast enough to hold off the Ferrari drivers, but he did manage to stay in the points and finish eighth.
Season Rating: 5 / 10
Dan
Sebastian Vettel: There were high hopes for Vettel coming into the newly rebranded Aston Martin, but on the whole, he was slightly underwhelming in his first year in green. He had his moments, particularly impressive drives in Monaco, Hungary and Azerbaijan, but was too inconsistent over the season, and regularly found himself out the points over the season. Vettel does still seem like a shadow of his former self, and although he did beat Stroll comfortably in the points, it doesn't show the entire story, and with someone of his pedigree, he should have been more convincing. A decent debut season for Aston Martin, but did not match up to the hype expected of him.
Best Race: Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Was on for a great P4 even before the chaos, and took advantage of Hamilton and Verstappen's misfortunes for a brilliant P2.
Season Rating: 6 / 10
Lance Stroll After a season near the front in 2020, Aston Martin and Stroll would have hoped to build on the Racing Point era in 2021, but in reality, it's been a very quiet season for Stroll. He never seemed to be in the wars with anyone, and never really did anything of note. He picked up points a respectable 9 times this season, 2 more times than Vettel. It's hard to really judge Stroll's season, as nothing much seemed to happen in the Canadian's camp. In some aspects, it was a good season for Stroll, unlike many predicted, he could challenge Vettel, and maybe being out of the limelight was beneficial, due to the pay driver criticism he has received for years. Overall, a quiet, but a respectable season for Stroll which he will look to build on in 2022.
Best Race: Qatar Grand Prix. Despite a measly P12 in qualifying, drove a strong race and finished in an impressive P6, only 7 tenths off P5, for a best result of the season in a calm and professional drive.
Season Rating: 6 / 10
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