Sebastian Vettel chose to retire from Formula 1 at the end of the last season. His farewell included all the tributes and nostalgia from fans and fellow drivers. Ahead of his last race, he even organized a run around the Yas Marina circuit which received a massive turnout.
His opponents, who usually try to beat him on the track out, joined for a dinner organized by Lewis Hamilton to celebrate Vettel’s time in F1. The German race driver always maintained that he was going out of his will.
Seb, Lewis Mick and Lando during Sebastian Vettel’s farewell dinner in Abu Dhabi 🥰💜#SV5 #LH44 #MSC47 #LN4 pic.twitter.com/lgoEToXhFW
— Sebastian Vettel Updates (@ocsebvettel) November 29, 2022
His major reasons were that he wanted to spend time with his family, and the other was the F1 racing making him look like a hypocrite amidst his advocacy for environmental conservatism.
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But Sebastian Vettel will didn’t work
While Vettel made it look like it was his own decision, a key figure, probably the most prominent person in the team, wasn’t willing to give him an extension. It was none other than Aston Martin boss Lawrence Stroll.
According to Business F1 Magazine, Stroll wasn’t willing to keep the German for the third year, as his ‘woke campaigns’ around LGBTQ+, human rights and environmental conservatism upset Aston Martin’s relations with Saudi Arabian sponsors.
Last year, the F1 team picked a mammoth sponsorship from the Saudi-based oil company Aramco. But it could have strained the alliance if Vettel continued like this.
Therefore, to save face among the fans, it seems that Aston Martin made it look like Vettel left his $15 million job alone. And rumoured to have not extend his contract for the following year.
An apolitical replacement
Soon after Vettel declared his retirement, Aston martin was quick to announce a replacement. Fernando Alonso was told to be the new driver for the Silverstone-based team from 2023 onwards.
Alpine was the only side shocked by this news, as they never saw Alonso’s betrayal coming. But looking from Stroll’s perspective, it was the best replacement, as Alonso is honestly at par driver with Vettel and has slightly more experience.
He’s not ready to stop for a while and, at the same time, prefers to remain mum on political matters. Therefore, they won’t fear offending a party which could, in the future, become a target of a political or human rights campaign.
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