Formula 1 news - Aston Martin want Sebastian Vettel to stay and expect answer on future 'imminently'

ByJames Walker-Roberts

Published 14/09/2021 at 08:45 GMT

Sebastian Vettel looks set to stay at Aston Martin. The four-time world champion joined Aston Martin at the start of the 2021 season after his six-year spell with Ferrari. He has an option to extend into 2022 and, with most other major teams having announced their line-ups for the following year, seems poised to continue.

Aston Martin say it is their “firm intention” to keep Sebastian Vettel for 2022.

The 34-year-old has an option in his contract which he can exercise to continue with the team after this season.

The due date for the option is in the coming weeks and team owner Lawrence Stroll expects an answer on Vettel’s future “imminently”.

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“We are delighted with Sebastian. It is our firm intention to continue with him next year and beyond,” Stroll told the BBC.

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Four-time world champion Vettel joined Aston Martin at the start of the 2021 season after a six-year spell with Ferrari.

His best performances so far were finishing second at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and Hungarian Grand Prix, although the latter was taken away as he was disqualified for a technical infringement.

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If Vettel does choose to leave Aston Martin he will have few other strong options as the major teams have announced their line-ups for 2022.

Stroll added that he was "unconcerned" by Vettel's involvement in environmental causes, which "have no bearing whatsoever on our strong and ongoing desire for him to continue to drive for us in Formula 1."

Earlier this week, Aston Martin boss Otmar Szafnauer shut down talk that a rift between the team and Vettel is slowing down contract talks.

“There is absolutely zero friction,” Szafnauer told The Race. “Ask him and I’m confident he will say he absolutely loves it here. “It’s just a matter of working out some of the details.”

Asked about his relationship with Vettel, Szafnauer added: “It’s been wonderful. He’s a fantastic individual, works really hard, very experienced and just a genuinely nice person.

"We really like him, he likes us. We are now in the detailed discussions of going forward. And within the next week to 10 days, we’ll be able to announce something.”

The next race on the F1 calendar is the Russian GP, which is on September 26.

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