Aston Martin Team Principal Mike Krack has revealed how Sebastian Vettel has reacted to the team’s great form in 2023.
The German left the F1 grid at the end of 2022, bringing down the curtain on a career that spanned a decade and a half and that saw him named World Champion four times, putting him among the greatest names to have ever driven in the sport.
The latter end of his career saw him running around largely in the midfield, however, with the Aston Martin project in its early stages and, midway through 2022, he revealed that he was calling it quits.
Quickly, of course, it was announced that Fernando Alonso was going to replace him within the team and what a move that has seemingly proven to be for the Spaniard, with two podiums recorded from the first two races this year.
Fernando’s gain looks very much to be Sebastian’s loss, then, with the German surely at least slightly thinking about what could have been had he remained for another year looking at the way Aston are performing now.
Sebastian Vettel’s reaction to Aston Martin’s form
Suitably, given Vettel’s amiable manner, the German has responded to Aston’s showings in positive fashion, congratulating the team on their efforts.
Speaking to the F1 Nation Podcast, Krack said:
“We have been in touch. We were in touch for the New Year. But then also Sebastian was Sebastian-like, congratulating us, very gentleman-like, after our first podium in Bahrain.
“I always said to him this is also your merit, because he brought us really one step up over the previous two years. He brought us up in a lot of areas, where we have learned a lot and progressed a lot.
“He has certainly [played] his part in where we are now. But he’s comfortable with that, he was not in any kind of regretting [mindset] or whatever, because he was very conscious about his decision when he made it.
“I think the respect between himself and the team, or the respect between himself and myself, [was] really shown by this great moment of congratulating us.”
Aston Martin ‘tempted’ to bring Vettel in for Lance Stroll in Bahrain
On the podcast, Krack also revealed that it did cross the team’s mind to potentially bring Seb back for Bahrain if Lance Stroll could not make it with his wrist injury, though that never came to pass in the end:
“Tempted? Yes, 100%. But we didn’t do it, because we have such a high respect for Sebastian and his decision that he made at the time.”
Formula 1
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