7 Candidates to Replace Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin F1 Team

• When Sebastian Vettel was unceremoniously let go by Ferrari in 2020 it was the newly-rebranded Aston Martin team that provided a long-term vision.

• Vettel, however, cut that vision short when he announced that he was retiring at season's end.

• Replacing Vettel will be no easy task for a team that does not have a clear-cut candidate waiting in the wings.

Aston Martin was not expecting to be entering Formula 1’s summer recess in search of a new lead driver.

When Sebastian Vettel was unceremoniously let go by Ferrari in 2020 it was the newly-rebranded Aston Martin team that provided a long-term vision of a fresh project, of rejuvenating an iconic British entity, with new Formula 1 regulations on the horizon that promised an opportunity for all.

Vettel signed up on a multi-year deal, with Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll obtaining a big name for the nascent project, laying out a four to five-year plan to compete for victories and world titles.

There has been massive investment at Silverstone, with a new factory expected to open in 2023, while recruitment has ramped up since Stroll’s acquisition in mid-2018 of what was then Force India.

So far Stroll’s vision remains just that; last year Aston Martin dropped from fourth to seventh, believing it was hamstrung by the subtle but influential floor regulation tweaks. This year it has failed to get a handle on the new regulations and sits ninth out the 10 teams. After 12 rounds it has 19 points, with Vettel scoring 15.

Vettel’s decision to retire was multi-faceted—family, energy, issues beyond racing—but he accepted he “doesn’t get much pleasure and motivation from being here and just being part of it,” which is what the final three years—2020 at Ferrari, 2021/22 at Aston Martin—have largely resembled.

Aston Martin had been open in wanting to continue with Vettel. As early as the initial flyaway races new team principal Mike Krack said he wanted Vettel to stay, and in the retirement press release owner Stroll outlined that “we made it clear to him that we wanted him to continue with us next year.”

It leaves a Vettel-shaped hole in Aston Martin’s project. There is no driver available who can bring the knowledge of 53 wins, four titles and 15 years of experience in leading teams to Aston Martin. Krack accepted that “the groundwork that Sebastian has done last year, and is still doing this year, is crucial” at a team that has for decades been rooted in the midfield but now has the ambition—and the finances—to fight at the front. It now also has to make a driver decision not just for 2023 but potentially for 2024 and beyond.