Aston Martin boss comments on Sebastian Vettel’s activism, insists they don’t have a ‘Plan B’

Sebastian Vettel is without a contract at Aston Martin beyond the end of 2022.

Sebastian Vettel has once again been called out for being a “hypocrite”, following his outburst over Canadian oil sands mining.

Alberta energy minister Sonya Savage called Vettel a “hypocrite” for fighting climate change whilst being funded by Saudi Aramco.

Saudi Aramco is a Saudi Arabian oil company which is a title partner of the Aston Martin F1 Team, and owns a share in the carmaker.

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack believes the criticism against the four-time World Champion is “not fair”, and that said he’d like the 35-year-old to tell the team what he’s planning to do so that the side can work with him.

Krack thinks the team “can achieve more” if Vettel worked in cooperation with them over environmental matters.

“Everyone has their opinion about it,” Krack said.

“I don’t think you can muzzle top, intelligent athletes and I think it’s not fair to criticise him for his commitment. What happened in Canada was the best example of this.

“But as a team representative, what I would like is that Sebastian works even more closely with us on his actions and talks to us about them beforehand. Together we can achieve more.”

Vettel is currently a talking point in the paddock, not only for his environmental activism but also that he’s currently without a contract for 2023.

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It’s rumoured that the German driver will make his decision on whether to retire or not during the summer break, which takes place after next weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

Should Vettel choose to leave F1, then Mick Schumacher has been suggested as the British team’s number one candidate to replace the experienced German.

Krack is insistent, though, that they aren’t “talking” about potential replacements for Vettel, with the team wanting the German to stay in 2023.

“We’re not talking about potential successors,” he insisted. “Neither with him nor with others.

“We want Sebastian to stay with us.”

The Aston Martin boss has explained that the team have a “very good relationship” with the 53-time race winner, and that the German knows how much the team wants him to stay next season.

“We have a very good relationship with Sebastian, so we don’t want to set a deadline. He knows our opinion,” he said.

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“He knows we really want to continue with him. There are talks in which we fundamentally exchange ideas about how we can imagine a future together, and we’re taking our time with that.

“Sure, there comes a point where you have to make a decision, but I don’t have the feeling that he’s stalling for time.

“I think after the summer break is the time when we can and must be more specific. Until then, we don’t have a plan B,” Krack concluded.