Sebastian Vettel has recently made it clear that coming back to Formula 1 wasn’t an option for him. The German former driver recently opened up on this to Sky Sports as F1 is in Australia for the ongoing Australian Grand Prix.
Things date back to Lance Stroll’s injury when the Canadian was in jeopardy if he could start the first race of the season. With Stroll injured and reserve driver Felipe Drugovich’s lack of F1 experience, the Silverstone-based team thought calling back the four-time world champion might be a good idea.
Sebastian Vettel interview with Sky Sport
(2/3) pic.twitter.com/v6qmITCpTo
— F1 To Rule Them All (@F1RulesMedia) March 31, 2023
But the team didn’t reach out to Vettel as they respected his decision. His decision to retire from the sport at the end of last year. As per reports, the 35-year-old received a message from Mike Krack, the team principal of Aston Martin F1.
The duo talked over it for some time and then concluded that going back wasn’t an option for him despite the hints. Vettel left the sport at the end of the 2022 F1 season, after 16 back-to-back years.
Team didn’t want to put Vettel in a difficult situation
As the thoughts were on replacing Stroll with Vettel, there were contradictions in the team. On one side, they wanted the German as a replacement, on the other, they wanted to respect his decision.
Returning to the track following a wrist injury, Lance Stroll gave it his all in FP2#BahrainGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/wdMN9JYbNB
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 3, 2023
Talking to F1, Krack revealed that the team was 100% tempted to ask the German former racer about the replacement.
However, Aston Martin also respected his retirement decision, as they thought it would not have been correct to ask for it. In other words, they didn’t want to put Sebastian Vettel in a difficult position.
Vettel wished Stroll a quick recovery
As the talks were on Vettel replacing Stroll, the German made sure he sticks to his decision. Furthermore, he also wished complete and fast recovery of his former teammate.
The 35-year-old said on this that he wasn’t at home when the situation occurred. He revealed that he could not even realize what was happening at first.
Upon hearing what happened, the former Red Bull champion made sure he reaches out to him and wishes him a full recovery. The Canadian, in the end, competed in the opening race of the season and picked up eight points for himself and the team.
