Rumor: Vettel ‘could retire’ because of ‘slow’ car (2nd Update)

This rumor is downgraded to ‘false’ today.

(GMM) Sebastian Vettel says talks with Aston Martin about a new contract for 2023 will kick off “now”.

The Silverstone-based team has made clear it wants to keep the quadruple world champion on board, but 35-year-old Vettel has also been linked with a shock switch to McLaren.

“I think Lando (Norris) has a contract,” the German said cheekily at Paul Ricard.

“No, I know some people there, but I think it’s just rumors.”

Aston Martin boss Mike Krack said recently that Vettel is the team’s ‘plan A’ – and at present there are no talks with ‘plan B’ alternatives like Mick Schumacher.

“I’m not only plan A for Aston Martin, they are also plan A for me,” Vettel told Bild newspaper. “We’re going to start talking now.”

Aston Martin freely acknowledges that it needs to put together a faster package to convince Vettel to stay, after recent upgrades failed to deliver their promise.

“We brought an update to Silverstone that we didn’t fully get on top of yet,” Vettel said. “Maybe this weekend will help us to get a little bit more answers.”

As for what happens next in his Formula 1 career, he answered: “Well, I’m racing this weekend, and the next one.

“Obviously I’ve said that at some point we’ll start to talk, and I’m talking to the team. I think there’s a clear intention to keep going. We’ll see soon where we stand.”

(GMM) Retirement could be just around the corner for quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel.

That is the view of Dr Helmut Marko, the head of Red Bull’s notorious junior driver program who powered the now 35-year-old’s Formula 1 success.

After Red Bull, Vettel struggled to match that success at Ferrari and especially now at Aston Martin, who are struggling with the green 2022 car.

“If he doesn’t see any light at the end of this tunnel, then I assume he will retire,” Marko told the German broadcaster RTL in Austria.

The 79-year-old Austrian said Vettel’s 2022 car is “slow from the ground up”, even though the B-version of the single-seater has been called a ‘green Red Bull’.

“A lot will depend on how the team develops the car,” Marko explained, agreeing that the B-version has a “very great similarity” to the current championship-leading Red Bull.

“If they can also copy what is under the hood, then he would have a relatively competitive package,” he added. “And if he has that, I think he will continue.”

Vettel told Sport1 at the Red Bull Ring that he will give thought to a 2023 contract “in the coming weeks”.

“It also depends on the direction in which the car is developing and how much potential I see in the team,” said the German.

“I’ve emphasized several times that I want to fight not only for points but also for victories, otherwise the fun is lost.

“So over the next few weeks, together with my family, I have to be clear about how realistic my goals are and how much energy I still feel in me to continue growing together with the team,” Vettel added.

When asked if a change of team could be on the cards, he answered: “I’m not thinking about that at the moment.

“Aston Martin is my first point of contact and the project I want to move forward with.”

(GMM) Rumors are gaining momentum by the day that Sebastian Vettel is inching towards the end of his Formula 1 career.

In multiple recent interviews, a big topic of conversation with the quadruple world champion has been his expiring Aston Martin contract.

The Lawrence Stroll-owned team insist they want to retain him for 2023, but stronger speculation suggests Aston Martin may replace Vettel with Fernando Alonso.

Spaniard Alonso, who says he wants to keep racing for “two or three” more years, may be nudged out of Alpine by the Renault-owned team’s reserve and reigning F2 champion Oscar Piastri.

Former F1 driver David Coulthard says that Alpine aside, the 40-year-old’s options are limited.

“Fernando is still performing at the level of his abilities and showing his hunger and motivation,” he told AS newspaper. “The question now is whether he will have the motivation to continue at Alpine.

“What do I expect to happen? Fernando has no other place to go so I think he should wait another year to see if the team takes a step.”

As for 34-year-old Vettel, his motivation now appears more focused on social and environmental issues – and he is not shy to answer questions about retirement.

“I may stay in racing, but maybe not right away,” he told AFP news agency when asked what he would do if he quits F1.

“I will not be a TV expert. No, no,” Vettel insisted.

It is clear that – like seven time world champion Lewis Hamilton – Vettel is struggling to keep his foot planted at the wheel of a car not capable of winning.

“When I started I didn’t mind finishing outside the top ten,” he admitted. “Today, it’s not what I’m here for. I want to win.

“I don’t have the feeling that I’m not driving as well as I used to. I’ve developed a lot, and my experience helps me not to stress about certain things.”

F1 legend Gerhard Berger, who was Vettel’s first team boss in Formula 1, is not so sure.

“It’s quite clear that he is not as good as he used to be,” he told f1-insider.com. “But that’s normal.

“In the first part of your career, you always take big risks, constantly pushing the car to the extreme limit. Then it evens out. At that point, you are at your peak.

“For me it was between 28 and 30. Then the curve goes down again. So Sebastian is certainly not at his peak anymore, but he has so much experience that he can still be at the front when it suits him,” Berger added.