Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Sebastian Vettel

  • Vettel retiring end of season

    The day has arrived, and what a sad day it is! Four time world champion, Sebastian Vettel will retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 season.

    The German driver, who made his debut with BMW Sauber in the 2007 United States Grand Prix, revealed the news via his newly created Instagram account.

    Vettel won all four of his championships with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013 and is third on the all-time list of Grand Prix winners with 53 victories. A six-year stint with Ferrari failed to yield a much-coveted fifth title. He has also scored one podium during one and a half years with Aston Martin where his contract expires at the end of 2022.

    Formula 1 teams, and drivers as well as drivers from Formula E took to social media to wish the World Champ well in his retirement, and having enjoyed racing him in past 15 years.

    Sebastian has used his platform in F1 to make a chnage, and in more recent years. Taking the knee with fellow drivers, raising awareness on the planet, and honestly just raising awareness in what’s going on in the world.

    Seb will be missed, his made a big impact in the past 15 years, and for me personally I’ve watched him since I was young, he was apart of my childhood. But seeing that his made this decision by himself and to do it for his family, no-one can put any negativity on that.

    I have had the privilege of working with many fantastic people in Formula 1 over the past 15 years – there are far too many to mention and thank. Over the past two years I have been an Aston Martin driver – and although our results have not been as good as we had hoped, it is very clear to me that everything is being put together that a team needs to race at the very highest level for years to come. I have really enjoyed working with such a great bunch of people. Everyone – Lawrence [Stroll], Lance [Stroll], Martin [Whitmarsh], Mike [Krack], the senior managers, the engineers, the mechanics and the rest of the team – is ambitious, capable, expert, committed and friendly, and I wish them all well. I hope that the work I did last year and am continuing to do this year will be helpful in the development of a team that will win in the future, and I will work as hard as I can between now and the end of the year with that goal in mind, giving as always my best in the last 10 races. The decision to retire has been a difficult one for me to take, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about it; at the end of the year I want to take some more time to reflect on what I will focus on next; it is very clear to me that, being a father, I want to spend more time with my family. But today is not about saying goodbye. Rather, it is about saying thank you – to everyone – not least to the fans, without whose passionate support Formula 1 could not exist.

    Sebastian Vettel on him leaving Formula 1.

    I want to thank Sebastian from the bottom of my heart for the great work that he has done for Aston Martin over the past year and a half. We made it clear to him that we wanted him to continue with us next year, but in the end he has done what he feels is right for himself and his family, and of course we respect that. He has driven some fantastic races for us, and, behind the scenes, his experience and expertise with our engineers have been extremely valuable. He is one of the all-time greats of Formula 1, and it has been a privilege to have been able to work with him. He will continue to race for us up to and including the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which will be his 300th Grand Prix entry. We will give him a fabulous send-off.

    Lawrence Stroll on Vettel.

    Sebastian is a superb driver – fast, intelligent and strategic – and of course we are going to miss those qualities. However, we have all learned from him, and the knowledge that we have gained from working with him will continue to benefit our team long after his departure. Aston Martin is a great project, with unlimited potential, and the groundwork that Sebastian has done last year, and is still doing this year, is crucial. When we become fully competitive – and we will – one of the architects of that future success will be Sebastian, and we will always be grateful to him for that.

    Mike Krack, on Seb.

  • Alonso to replace Vettel?

    Acording to a report, Fernando Alonso is on Aston Martin’s radar again to potentially to replace Sebastian Vettel for 2023.

    Vettel’s seat is probably one of the most talked about this year, he doesn’t give anything away with what he will be doing next year.

    Alonso is now into his second season, since returning to Formula 1 last season with Alpine, he has had an strong start to the 2022 capmaign even though his result do not show that…

    Bad luck has played a part in the Spaniard’s season, such as a retirement in Saudi Arabia and then a hit from Mick Schumacher at Imola later forced Alonso to retire because of a large chunk of his sidepod went up in the air… As well as this, at the Australian GP it looked like Alonso was a contender for pole, but a hydraulic problem caused him to crash in Q3.

    Aston Martin have ambitions to become title contenders within the next five years, but early in 2022 they find themselves as one of the slowest cars on the grid. Vettel and Stroll scored their first points of the year at Imola.

    But with Aston Martin having a lot of work to be able to be a contender to challenge the top teams right now, it is suspected that Vettel could leave the team. F1-Insider.com report that Alonso is on AM’s radar, having first been linked to a move to the Silverstone based team ahead of the 2022 season, when Vettel’s future was also not clear.

    My Opinion-

    We all know Alonso wants to keep on driving in F1, whether thats with Alpine, or Aston Martin I don’t think he will mind. If this happens, then I could see Alpine getting in Piastri, which a lot of people will want to see!

    But will Seb retire or will he find another seat? It’s a tough one, Seb says his still got a few more years in him, but does he actually want to stay?…

  • Vettel back for Australia

    Vettel back for Australia

    Sebastian Vettel will return to the grid for the third round of the season in Australia after Covid-19 saw him miss the first two rounds.

    Whilst the four time world champion was recovering at home, Aston Martin brought in their super-sub Nico Hulkenberg to fill the spot for Bahrain, and then waited round until confirmation came through that Seb wasn’t racing in Saudi Arabia either.

    “TEAM UPDATE: We are pleased to confirm that Sebastian Vettel is now fit to race and will therefore line up alongside @lance_stroll in Melbourne to kick off his 2022 @F1 season at the @ausgrandprix,” tweeted Aston Martin on Thursday after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

    The team are still awaiting a points finish along with Williams- Could the Australian Grand Prix be the one?

    Ahead of Sebastian’s positive covid result- which came after Official Pre-Season Testing- Vettel spoke about the AMR22 and driving it: “The car wants to be driven in a different way. I am playing with driving styles and what I can do. Equally we are playing with the car, we are trying to sort some problems that we have, some of the challenges that we’ve faced, find solutions.here is still a lot to do, everybody is flat-out and there is still a very, very steep and high mountain to climb… but it’s fun, I think the challenge is fun and the belief is there that one day we will reach that peak.”

    Great to see that Seb will be back! He can finally start his 2022 season.

  • Hulkenberg to race in Jeddah

    Hulkenberg to race in Jeddah

    Sebastian Vettel will miss the second race, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as the German is still recovering from contracting Covid-19 before the season opener in Bahrain.

    The news means that, as in Bahrain, Nico Hulkenberg has been called up to jump in the AMR22 again.

    Hulkenberg will now get to experience the dramatic Jeddah Corniche Circuit for the very first time, following a difficult opening for Aston Martin as both drivers didn’t manage to score points.

    The team have confirmed they expect Vettel who is currently recovering in Europe, having flown home after the Official Pre-Season Test in Bahrain to be fit for the Australian Grand Prix weekend taking place from the 8th to 10th of April.

    “It was interesting,” said Hulkenberg after the race. “It was difficult, very difficult to be honest – first time [racing] obviously in a long, long time. There’s so many things happening in the race, it’s so dynamic, the car balance is changing, the fuel load is changing, so it’s difficult to keep up with all these changes and stay on top of things.”

  • Vettel out of Bahrain GP

    Vettel out of Bahrain GP

    Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel has tested positive for Covid-19 and will miss the season opener in Bahrain. The four time world champion is currently doing well.

    Vettel will be replaced by the team’s reserve driver, Nico Hulkenberg who will be in the car from Friday practice. This weekend will be Hulkenbergs first Grand Prix since the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix, when he stood in for Lance Stroll at Racing Point after the Canadian tested positive aswell.

    It was the third time he filled in for a race driver that year, having replaced Sergio Perez for the two race weekends at Silverstone.

    The former Renault driver will be making his 180th Grand Prix start on Sunday, in which he is still looking to break his podium duck.

    The news comes after Daniel Ricciardo returned a positive test last week, in which he missed the Official Pre-Season Test, he has since returned a negative test and has returned to the paddock today (Thursday).

    Speaking prior to his positive test, Vettel had said he hoped this season would see a marked improvement from Aston Martin. “Everything is new in Formula One and I think we’re looking at a very tight battle, and some very close gaps, between all the teams,” he said. “There’s a lot to play for – and that’s F1 at its best.”

    Wishing Sebastian a get well soon and hopefully we see him in the car next week!

  • Vettel will not race in Russian GP

    Sebastian Vettel has said he will not race in the Russian Grand Prix if Formula 1 still visits there later in the year, following the countries invasion of Ukraine.

    F1 said today that it was monitoring the situation after Russia commenced a major military assault on Ukraine on Thursday morning after months of tension building.

    It has been reported that UEFA plans to strip St Petersburg of the Champions League final in June in reaction to the invasion, an has put F1’s plans for the grand prix in Sochi in the limelight.

    The four-time world champion is a GPDA director and has been one of the grids most vocal figures on social matters and human rights in recent years, while Vettel said he could not speak on behalf of the GPDA as the drivers had not discussed the issue yet, he revealed that his own mind was already made up and would not race in Russia.

    “In my personal opinion, obviously I woke up again after this morning’s news, shocked” Vettel said. “I think it’s horrible to see what is happening. Obviously if you look at the calendar, we have a race scheduled in Russia. For myself, my own opinion is I should not go, I will not go. I think it’s wrong to race in that country. I’m sorry for the people, innocent people who are losing their lives, getting killed for stupid reasons under a very strange and mad leadership. I’m sure it’s something we will talk about, but as I said as GPDA, we haven’t come together yet.”

    Max Verstappen also added: “When a country is at war, it is not right to race there.”

    My Opinion-

    First of all round of applause to Seb and Max, I completely agree with what both have said, and I think some other drivers will agree too. It will be interesting to see what the drivers association will say when they come together.

    For F1 to say they are ‘monitoring’ the situation closely I find wrong, its a simple yes or no if they are going to race there or not, they have plenty of time to find a replacement as it set to be in September.

  • AMR22

    AMR22

    Aston Martin have officially launched their 2022 challenger, the AMR22 with a special event held at the headquarters of Aston Martin at Gaydon, Uk.

    Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll will form the team’s line-up , in what will be their second season under the Aston Martin name.

    The AMR22, features a curvy aerodynamic design required by revolutionary new rules making their debut. Now onto the livery, it has been updated with lime detailing blended with what the team described as a “refined version of the traditional green livery”.

    The Mercedes powered Aston Martin team finished the season in seventh with Vettel scoring the teams best result with second in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The team will now be led by new Team Principle Mike Krack, who will begin his role before pre-season running in Barcelona.

    Owner, Lawrence Stroll said: “The Aston Clinton hill climb is about an hour’s drive from Gaydon and it was there that Lionel Martin launched Aston Martin into the heat of competition. That was the start of the climb that our Formula 1 team is still on today. We have a five-year plan to keep climbing and get to the top.”

    Vettel added: “Look at that car, who wouldn’t feel excited about the prospect of racing that? And when it comes to hopes for the season, I do not think anyone really knows what to expect. There are new rules and of course all the teams will be hoping that they have got it right. Everyone wants to win, me included, and no one would be in Formula 1 if their dream was not to win. I am no different. The main thing is to keep moving forward and moving up. This is only year two of a five-year plan, so we are still quite near the start. But this team has big ambitions and big plans, and I am hugely excited to be a part of that.”

    Lance Stroll said: “This is not only a big opportunity for Aston Martin, but also for all the teams. We just have to believe that we have done a better job and I know that everyone involved is working unbelievably hard to give Seb and me the best chance. At the same time, we have to be realistic heading into the new season. Our main aim is to move nearer the front than we were last year,” Stroll continued. “That would be progress. As Seb said, it is impossible to know where every team will be until we all get on track, and even then you might not know who has really got it right until qualifying in Bahrain. Aston Martin has some really clever people so I am optimistic we can make good progress this year.”

    My Opinion-

    The cars livery is just wow! Last year they had the pink on the car due to the BWT sponsor and yes it did look good, but this years car just tops it, the lime green makes the darker green pop a little bit more.

    But on another note, it will be interesting to see if any other teams will be the same design as this especially on the vents section.

  • AM confirm ’22 line up

    Aston Martin have confirmed their line up for the ’22 season and it is unchanged, so both Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel will be in the racing green next year!

    Aston Martin came back to F1 this year, after Lawrence Stroll was fighting for it to make its return to the sport and he succeeded.

    Both Stroll and Vettel have done well this year, even more so Seb as its a new car and team for him to adapt too, so all eyes were on him to see how he would perform and he has had a bit of an up/down season, first four races he didn’t score any points then he went on to have two podiums but got disqualified so effectively got one took away from him.

    Lance Stroll said: “Next season I will be embarking on my sixth year in Formula One, alongside my team-mate Sebastian. We started this Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team campaign together and I greatly look forward to continuing the journey with him next year. We have not achieved what we set out to do this year, but that has only amplified our hunger and drive for success next season.”

    Sebastian Vettel said: “I am really looking forward to racing the new generation of Formula One cars. Their look is very different and the new technical regulations should give us cars that can race much more closely than recently. More exciting racing will be great for the drivers as well as for the fans.”

    My Opinion-

    I believe this is the right call, I didn’t see Stroll going anywhere because of his dad owning the team… And I thought it would be silly to get rid of Vettel as he has performed very well in the car and no doubt is going to give some pointers for helping with the 2022 car.

  • Aston Martin withdraw appeal…

    Aston Martin started to appeal Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification from the Hungarian Grand Prix, however the stewards dismissed it and since then withdrew.

    On the 5th of August, AM started to appeal, the team released a statement saying that the data showed their was enough fuel left in the car.

    On the 9th August, the stewards heard from the team. After hearing the review the FIA revealed Aston Martin had discovered a faulty fuel pump which lead to personnel only extracting 0.3 litres.

    Therefore the officials dismissed the right to review, which means that Vettel’s disqualification from the race still stands.

    Now today (12/08) , Aston Martin have withdrawn their appeal against the disqualification.
    A statement from the team said: “Having considered our position and having noted the FIA stewards’ verdict that there was clear new evidence of a fuel system failure, we have nonetheless withdrawn our appeal on the basis that we believe doing so outweighs the benefits of it being heard.”

    My opinion-

    I can see why the team wanted to appeal, it’s such a close season and 18 points is a lot too lose! However rules are rules at the end of the day, they never would of got away with it which is a shame but I’m sure Aston Martin will get another podium this season!