Vettel laments "painful" power unit failure

Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel has lamented the "painful" power unit failure that cost him the entire second practice session for the Australian Grand Prix.

Vettel missed the opening two events of the F1 season after contracting Covid-19 and lost out on further track time at a revamped Albert Park when he ground to a halt at in the closing stages of the opening session of the weekend.

The AMR22 was seen smoking and the resultant power unit change ensured the four-time champion would remain confined to his garage for the entirety of FP2.

Explaining his stoppage, Vettel said: “We had a problem, there was a bit of smoke and I lost power and we had to stop the car on the track and I did the best I could to limit the damage and get it off the track as soon as possible.

“It stopped our running, which was painful and unfortunately cost us the whole session in the afternoon, which is not ideal. I haven’t been in the car for a while, plus the track is different. It will be fine tomorrow but it would have been nice to get more laps"

Asked if it could be a long-running problem, he added: “I don’t think [so]. At this stage, we are very early, and the way it works, even if something brakes and you have a spare engine or spare parts, it has no impact. That’s the way the rules are.”

Vettel – no problem getting “in the rhythm”

It has been a disappointing start to the season for Aston Martin with no points gained in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and whilst Vettel said it was “good to be back in the car” for the first time since the final pre-season testing session in Bahrain, he struggled to find much improvement since then.

“It [the car] felt more or less where we left it in Bahrain," he added.

"Obviously, some bits changed and a lot of work since then, but [also] a different track so it was a bit of both, getting myself back in the rhythm, getting used to the new layout here, the new tarmac.

"I don’t think it was a big problem to get back in the rhythm, I felt quite comfortable quite quickly.”

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