Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has expressed his intention to keep Sebastian Vettel around, if the four-time world champion wants to stay.
Vettel joined the British side last year after spending six seasons at Ferrari, but the side that had been competing for third in the Constructors’ Standings in 2020 under their Racing Point guise slipped back in 2021.
Vettel scored points on seven occasions last year, and managed a podium finish in Baku, but there was in truth little for the team to shout about as they ended the year seventh in the Constructors’ Standings.
They then lost team principal Otmar Szafnauer to Alpine over the winter and, ahead of the new season, Vettel indicated that his future beyond the expiry of his contract at the end of this season is dependent on the Silverstone-based side’s performance in 2022.
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“We want to progress and win so, ultimately, having had the path that I have had so far, I’m mostly interested in winning and that will determine what the future brings,” he told RacingNews365.com.
Aston Martin are currently recovering from a wretched start to the season having failed to score a single point in the opening three rounds through Vettel, Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg, who replaced his compatriot in the opening two rounds when he fell ill with COVID-19.
Since then, the 34-year-old and the Canadian have managed six points finishes between them, and their 16 points leave them eighth in the Constructors’ Standings above Haas.
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With fortunes on the up of late, despite a promising weekend in Montreal falling away from them, Krack hopes to see Vettel stick around for a “long” time.
“We were always clear that if he wants to continue, we would like him to stay for long, yes,” he told Motorsport.com.
“We are talking. We have a very, very good relationship, and it is not that we have to set each other deadlines.
“Obviously at one point, if we drag that too long, we will also be running into trouble, and he’s aware of that.
“But they are very trustworthy discussions that we are having. From that point of view, it’s all good.”
Stroll took the final point at the Canadian Grand Prix for Aston Martin after Vettel, on older tyres, was denied a chance at a top-10 finish following a late Safety Car.