Aston Martin chief hopes Sebastian Vettel will regret decision to retire from F1

Aston Martin's team principal, Mike Krack thinks it's a 'shame' that Sebastian Vettel decided to retire - and he hopes the German will regret his decision.

Aston Martin chief hopes Sebastian Vettel will regret decision to retire from F1

Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel retired from Formula 1 at the end of last season. The last three (even four) years of his career were rather disappointing by his standards, as he was never in a position to consistently challenge for championships, race wins, or even podiums. Considering he’s a four-time world champion, this must have been disheartening. While the ‘final nail in the coffin’ was apparently last season’s Austrian GP, he had been thinking about retiring since 2018.

Vettel wanted to spend more time with his family, and on his personal interests as well, and committing to Formula 1 no longer fits with his other plans. That doesn’t mean he’s completely out from all racing – he did participate in the Race of Champions at the end of January. He has not ruled out a return either, but the chance for that will shrink with each passing year. But something curious happened after he had announced his desire to retire – he seemed to get even better!

His results improved, and arguably, the performances did as well. Mike Krack, team principal at Aston Martin, thinks the German was back to his best towards the end: “I think so, he tasted blood. When things went up in Singapore and Suzuka, you could tell he was happy. When you heard him on the radio, you knew right away that he was there. He was sharp, he was really in the flow.” he told Motorsport-Magazin.

This coincided with the AMR22 also improving, which must have motivated Vettel to do even better. After noting this, Krack added: “I have to say: hats off! He had a tough time, often retired in Q1 and he never let his head down, always supporting the team and Lance. That was very exemplary. I’m glad he’s where he is – but it’s a shame he decided to retire. I hope he regrets it.”

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Mike Krack anticipates no issues with Sebastian Vettel replacement Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso
New Aston Martin man, Fernando Alonso

Sebastian Vettel will be replaced by Fernando Alonso, another world champion, but one who has a vastly different reputation. It’s not exactly negative, of course. However, he has often been considered ‘hard to work with’. When cited a long line of team principals that exited a team (that Alonso was at), and whether he is concerned about this record, Mike Krack made it clear that he isn’t.

The Aston Martin team principal said: “No, not at all. I think I’m a team leader who acts differently than others. I’m not looking for the media, I’m looking for the team. My only role is to be an element of the team. It is important to me to integrate Fernando there, that he is also part of the team.” and added: “We are not opponents.”

He further explained that everything will be dealt with ‘openly and transparently’. If there is something the team can’t do, then they will tell Alonso that, and explain why exactly they cannot. Krack thinks that there ‘won’t be any problems’ as long as their work process goes like this.

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