Sebastian Vettel has hinted that the outcome of his 2022 campaign with Aston Martin may determine his future in Formula 1 beyond this season.
Vettel had a dismal debut season with Aston Martin in 2021, finishing 12th in the Drivers’ standings after a single podium in Turkey.
Vettel’s 2022 season got off to a difficult start, with the German driver missing the first two races due to Covid and then completely botching his return to the grid in Australia, where he crashed twice. Furthermore, Aston’s lacklustre AMR22 has given Vettel and colleague Lance Stroll little hope for the rest of the season.
Vettel’s deal with his team expires at the end of 2022, so there’s a cloud of uncertainty hanging over him now. When asked about his plans beyond this year, the four-time world champion remained tight-lipped.
“I don’t know, no secrets, it will depend on how this year goes and then [I’ll] take it from there,” the four-time world champion said.
“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.”
“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.”
Vettel, reflecting on his career at the pinnacle of motorsport, values his accomplishments and believes his passion for the sport has not waned. He did agree, though, that competing in Formula One with little chance of victory necessitates a “different motivation.”
“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,” said the 34-year-old.
“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.”
