Sebastian Vettel, the four-time world champion who recently retired from Formula 1, could be in line to replace Lance Stroll for the season-opening race in Bahrain next weekend.
Right before the start of the pre-season testing, it was revealed Lance Stroll wouldn’t be available for the pre-season testing, as he obtained an injury after a bike accident while preparing for the upcoming season. But after that, it was updated he won’t be there for even the season’s first race.
Therefore, it has left Aston Martin with minimum choices. They do have the option in the current F2 champion Felipe Drugovich. For the entirety of three days in Bahrain pre-season testing, he was there in place of Stroll to mark up miles for Aston Martin.
However, with no prior race experience in F1, he won’t be an ideal replacement for Stroll. Thus, the Silverstone-based team could go for the former ally.
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Sebastian Vettel could be in for Bahrain Grand Prix
Only three months after pinning his F1 career, Vettel could be there for his former team to partner with Fernando Alonso. In his recent comments to Autosport, Aston Martin’s boss Mike Krack didn’t deny the possibility. But if Stroll will be missing for the Saudi Arabian GP, too, then Vettel would have enough time to prepare and get in the F1 seat.
“I mean, this is very, very hypothetical,” he said. “First of all, our plan is to have Lance in the car. And then we continue to see because we have Bahrain first before we speak about Jeddah. We have not made the final decision. That’s the point.”
Krack warns fans shouldn’t get too excited about Vettel returning, as the German race driver left the sport with a thorough mind, and his newfound principles conflicted with his profession. So they have to respect that and should be prepared for a no by Vettel.
When asked whether Vettel has shown interest in having a small cameo for his last F1 team, Krack outrightly declined to reveal anything about that.
First time Fernando Alonso and Vettel will partner
For years Vettel and Alonso have vied against each other for the championship. However, they never got a chance to partner with each other, even though both had high-profile teammates at some point in their careers.
Both have also competed for Ferrari, obviously at different points in time. But their destinies never collided, and it could have been a good sight for the fans had they ever been at Ferrari together.
But this time, fate could work differently. If not Ferrari, the two could become a team with Aston Martin for the season’s first few weeks. No F1 fan would want to pass on that opportunity.
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