Sebastian Vettel’s Formula One career “could be over quite quickly” if he fails to get the measure of his Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll in 2021, a former F1 driver has warned.
Speaking this week, Christian Klien, the last Austrian to race in the pinnacle of motorsport, said the four-time World Champion must beat Stroll in equal machinery to turn his career around after a miserable final season with Ferrari.
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“At Aston Martin, he has the chance to do a complete reset,” Klien said on the Sport and Talk From Hangar 7 programme on ServusTV.
“But he has to have Lance Stroll under control. I think this will be very important for him.
“Sebastian always had psychological problems when his team-mate was very strong, like with Daniel Ricciardo or Charles Leclerc.
“If he doesn’t get Stroll under control, his career could be over quite quickly,” the ex-F1 racer warned.
Vettel is widely expected to outperform Lance Stroll this upcoming season, given his collection of F1 trophies and the fact that the young Canadian was outscored by Sergio Perez last year.
Earlier this month, Vettel said he is looking forward to racing with Mercedes power for the first time in his F1 career.
“The Mercedes unit is supposedly the strongest on the grid and it will be my first time with Mercedes in Formula 1,” Vettel said.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how they work. We [Aston Martin] are obviously not in charge of the engine and its development and we can benefit from such strong partners, so we can get on with the car and only worry about that.
“I think we have lots of stuff to do on that front.”
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