F1 News: Sebastian Vettel Hints At Retirement Next Year
Sebastian Vettel has been contemplating the next step as his contract with Aston Martin expires at the end of this season. Expressing that the primary motivation to carry on with the sport is ‘winning’, he said that he would be making a decision on what he will do next, after analysing his performance in 2022.
He was quoted saying: “I don’t know. No secrets, it will depend on how this year goes and then (I’ll) take it from there.”
“My contract ends at the end of this season. Obviously it’s not the year everyone in the team had hoped for, at least not the start of the season, but I think it would be bad to write it off already.”
The Aston Martin Racing Team has been experiencing repeated challenges pertaining to Sebastian Vettel who was absent during the first two races of the season because he was infected with Covid-19.
After being back, Vettel was still not in top form. Not to forget the embarrassment he caused through his ‘€5000 scooter stunt‘ or the fine he attracted for exceeding the pit lane speed limit.
Aston Martin Racing team principal Mike Krack expressed that it was unusual for a four-time world champion for making rookie errors. He did sense something amiss after witnessing Vettel crash at the Australian Grand Prix in an unexpected manner.
After closely analysing the series of events, Vettel’s performance, and behaviour, we did come to the conclusion that Vettel might be suffering from long Covid. But, that’s just another opinion.
Being philosophical, Vettel stated: “One day there will be a day for all of us when this journey ends and some other journey will start, whatever that might be.”
Revealing that AMR as a team is still growing and that a lot of things still look promising, it is a factor that he will consider when looking at the future. He said:
“In all honesty, I had an amazing 15 years or so, looking back, and I was in a position to win championships, win a lot of races, fight for pole positions, get a lot of podiums and obviously the taste was great.
It’s not a secret that if you are not in a position to be there that it’s a different taste.”
“You need to find a different motivation, but I think ultimately I am willing to be tasting the same again. That’s the nature of the sport.
That’s one of the big deciders but the team is growing – there are a lot of things that look very promising.
“The answer is time will tell, but those will be the key things I will be looking at to see how promising it’s looking at the future and how soon.”
Vettel has been one of the most successful drivers of Formula One. As he reflects on his journey of fifteen years, we’re reminded of F1 team boss Giancarlo Minardi’s statement suggesting that Vettel should retire.
However, Vettel has hinted that he is ‘willing to be the tasting the same again’. Has he suggested a retirement from F1 to pursue another form of motorsport?
Or, is he hinting at making a switch to another team, especially with reports of Audi and Porsche expected to onboard F1? As he suggested, only time will tell.
