Aston Martin to find a replacement for Sebastian Vettel as the 4-time World Champion retires from F1 at the end of the 2022 season.
Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement from F1 on his Instagram account. He debuted in F1 in 2007. He won 4 consecutive championship titles with Red Bull from 2010 to 2013 becoming the youngest F1 champion at the age of 23.
The German’s future has been the buzz around the paddock for the past couple of weeks. Vettel’s contract with Aston was set to expire at the end of the 2022 season.
He was rumoured to join McLaren or some other team in F1. Seb, put the speculations to rest by announcing his retirement ahead of the 2022 Hungarian GP.
In his video, Seb said, “I have spent a lot of time thinking about it; at the end of the year I want to take some more time to reflect on what I will focus on next; it is very clear to me that, being a father, I want to spend more time with my family.”
Also Read: Sebastian Vettel reveals reason why he snubbed $15 million and took retirement from F1
Who can replace Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin?
Aston Martin will be looking for a proper replacement to replace Sebastian Vettel ahead of the 2023 season. The team has struggled with a lack of pace in the 2022 season and is P9 in the constructor’s standings.
Aston Martin F1 CEO Lawrence Stroll said, “We made it clear to (Vettel) that we wanted him to continue with us next year, but in the end, he has done what he feels is right for himself and his family, and of course, we respect that.”
The driver line-up for F1 is very limited with just 20 seats. In the last few years, not many major changes have happened in the sport. This means many young drivers who graduated from F2 don’t get a seat in the F1 grid.
Seb’s vacancy leaves room for a driver who has to prick up possible points on weekends and has to consistently battle in F1’s midfield. We feel these 3 drivers will be an ideal replacement for the 4-time World Champion at Aston Martin.
Nyck de Vries, Pierre Gasly & Antonio Giovinazzi – Sebastian Vettel’s possible replacements
Our first pick is Mercedes’s reserve driver the reigning Formula E champion, Nyck de Vries. de Vries has won the 2019 F2 title and has also tested for Mercedes and Williams in F1.
Aston Martin, which is powered by Mercedes can use de Vries as a replacement for Sebastian Vettel. Especially after Toto Wolff stated he ‘can’t really help him find a seat in F1. Toto Said, “I think if we are not able to provide him with an interesting Formula 1 project, in a way we need to let him go.”
Another experienced F1 driver could be AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly. Pierre has been in F1 since 2017 but has never got to prove his potential. He was axed from the Red Bull seat after half a season in 2019.
Gasly has a contract with AlphaTauri till the end of the 2023 season. But at Alpha, he has reached his ceiling and doesn’t seem like Red Bull will be knocking on his door. Hence the move to Aston makes sense for the Frenchman.
In fact, just like Vettel, Gasly won his first Grand Prix in Monza. Seb won the Italian GP in 2008 when the team was known as Toro Rosso. Gasly repeated the feat by winning the race in 2020.
And lastly, Antonio Giovinazzi is the last pick. He raced till 2021 with Alfa Romeo and was replaced by rookie Zhou Guanyu. Antonio has since raced in the Formula E championship and acts as a reserve driver for Alfa Romeo and Haas.
It has recently emerged that Alfa will sever ties with Giovinnazzi after 2022. And Aston Martin could be a break for the Italian driver.
