Sebastian Vettel sounded a bit like saying goodbye for the first time in Imola. His contract with Aston Martin, he confirmed last weekend, expires at the end of the season. And whether he continues after that will “ultimately depend on how this year goes”.
He also made no secret of the fact that he currently has to “motivate himself differently” than in previous years due to the poor performance of his AMR22.
Mike Krack, Vettel’s new team boss at Aston Martin since mid-January, has not escaped the statements. And he finds this “fair”, as he says: “A driver like Sebastian shouldn’t drive for P18 or P16.”
Listening to Krack, there’s no doubt that the Luxembourger wants to keep his old acquaintance from their BMW days together: “It’s up to us to give him a decent car that’s up to his level. We’ll work hard to get him to convince.”
But that’s still a long way to go. In Imola, Vettel scored Aston Martin’s first points of the 2022 season in eighth place. Despite this, the team is second to last in the Constructors’ Championship. Only Williams started worse. However: In 2021 Aston Martin only had five points after four events.
Krack praises Vettel’s attitude, speed & experience
It is “very important” for the British team to keep Vettel. First: “Because of continuity. I think continuity is something very important.” Second: “Because of his work ethic, his speed, his experience. Having someone like him on the team is worth a lot.”
“He has a lot of ideas, he drives us. But at the same time he is also realistic and knows exactly what is possible and what is not possible and he does his best. That is important because there are other drivers who are on high level, but then they become impatient and very difficult to handle,” says Krack.
“That’s not the case with Sebastian at all,” he praises the four-time world champion, who had to skip the first two races in 2022 due to an infection with the corona virus. “For us,” says Krack, “that’s super helpful. And that’s why we really want to continue with him. Not just because he’s fast.”
Krack doesn’t say that explicitly, but some examples spontaneously come to mind for industry insiders. Fernando Alonso, for example, a master of his trade, but who drove the McLaren team crazy during the difficult Honda years. Or Nigel Mansell in 1995 at McLaren, who threw in the towel after just two races.