Four-time F1 world champion Vettel has joined the rebranded Aston Martin team for 2021 following a difficult final season with Ferrari, replacing Perez.
Vettel finished a lowly 13th in the championship for Ferrari, scoring just one podium and barely one-third of teammate Charles Leclerc’s points total.
Recurring errors by Vettel in recent years led to questions about how much Ferrari’s cars suited his driving style, which has been said to be dependent on a stable rear end.
But Aston Martin technical director Andrew Green said there were zero concerns about accommodating Vettel with its new AMR21 car, believing his driving style is not as extreme as that of Perez.
“Yes, [Vettel] does have his own personal driving style, but that’s no different to the driving styles that we’ve seen from other drivers,” Green said.
“I’d say [it’s] not as extreme as the driver he is replacing, who had a very extreme driving style which was very difficult to get right at all tracks. It shone at certain tracks and didn’t at others.
“I think Seb’s style is a lot less extreme. And we have the tools and capability to tune the car to suit him for sure.
“We’ve already started working on that. We’ve been working on that for the last month in the simulator. And he seems very happy with the directions that we’ve taken. So, yeah, no problems there.”
Vettel got his first taste of his new Aston Martin F1 car during a brief shakedown at Silverstone last week, with his maiden extended outing scheduled later this week at the start of pre-season testing in Bahrain.
While Vettel was curious to get an idea of the car concept Aston Martin has following a long spell at Ferrari, he moved to dispel the myth surrounding his need for a stable rear end.
“I think the whole rear end thing has got a little bit out of hand,” Vettel said.
“If you look at the cars that I had when I was at Red Bull, or the beginning of Ferrari, I think there’s always been times where the rear was nervous, and that’s OK.
“I don’t think I’m more vulnerable than the others in this regard. If anything, I don’t like when the car is really just understeery, because at least with the oversteer, you can do plenty of things.
“With the understeer, as well there’s some driving techniques, but your hands are a bit more tied or a bit more limited. So actually, I prefer when the car is a bit more loose, that really helps you to rotate, and so on.
“Obviously, if it gets too much, then you lose a lot of time. And then nobody likes that because it’s slow.
“But coming back on the philosophy, I think it is interesting. By the sounds of it is very different. I hope it’s coming my way. We’ll see how it goes.”