Mark Webber "nervous" for Sebastian Vettel after Bahrain Grand Prix disaster

Sebastian Vettel has been copping a fair share of criticism for his performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The four-time world champion had a torrid start to his 2021 campaign as he finished the race in P15 while teammate Lance Stroll finished the race in P10.

To add to his misery, Vettel was involved in a rather clumsy incident with Esteban Ocon that resulted in a 10-second penalty for the German. What's followed since has been an uproar of experts chiming in with their opinions about the four-time world champion's form.

Gerhard Berger has claimed that Sebastian Vettel cannot handle pressure, while Damon Hill feels everything that can go wrong, is going wrong with Vettel. The latest of the Formula 1 pundits weighing in on Sebastian Vettel's situation is Mark Webber, the German's former teammate at Red Bull. The Australian, speaking on the podcast 'On the Marbles', said he was starting to get nervous about Sebastian Vettel and his future.

A new beginning. A new journey.31.03.21 | @AstonMartin DBX x Sebastian Vettel

— Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) March 29, 2021

“I’m a bit nervous, I must say. How many bullets has he got left in his magazine? I don’t know." Mark Webber said.

The Australian also said that Vettel prefers an English setting. However, he remains unsure if the German's comfort can turn into pace:

“I think he’ll enjoy the environment, there’s no question about that. He will enjoy not being at Maranello and being in the English vibe, he has always enjoyed that, I know that for a fact. What that doesn’t translate to is automatic performance. I think he’s going to enjoy himself more, I don’t know how it’s going to go on the stopwatch and the stopwatch is what F1’s all about."

Sebastian Vettel's not a mid-pack guy: Mark Webber

Picture perfect. 📸Relive all the action from the first race of the new #F1 season in our #BahrainGP gallery. ⬇️

— Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) March 30, 2021

Webber also felt that Vettel driving a midfield car could play a role. The Australian claims that since Vettel is not at the beginning of his career, he might miss the intensity that surrounds a top-tier team.

"The team are not serial winners yet, they haven’t got the intensity about them, they’re on a journey. Yes, he’s on that, he’s going to understand that but how is that going to go for his juices in terms of motivation and momentum? I’m really nervous."

This is an alarming situation for Sebastian Vettel and his fans. The German did not perform in the way expected of him at the Bahrain Grand Prix. He hasn't performed up to his best since arguably the 2018 season with Ferrari. Unless Sebastian Vettel can turn his fortunes around, it could only be a matter of time before he leaves Aston Martin and Formula 1 for good.