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Sebastian Vettel Could Retire at the End of the Season After a Horrible Start for Aston

Following a not exactly stellar start of the season for Sebastian Vettel and the Aston Martin Formula One team, questions are being raised about the German super driver's future.
Could Sebastian Vettel retire at the end of 2022 18 photos
Photo: Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team
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Sebastian Vettel bet on the immense potential of the Aston Martin for the "New Era" cars to revitalise his career, but he will be out of contract by the end of 2022, so there are significant talks about his future in the sport. In addition, the British company seems to have built a dreadful car, so Vettel has all the reasons to quit. After all, he is a four-time world champion and one of the most successful F1 drivers in history, so of course, he will not be satisfied by a midfield car at best.

He missed the first two races of the season due to being tested positive for COVID-19, and in Australia he completed only 48 laps over the entire weekend due to mechanical failures and some driver errors.

"If someone like him, a four-time world champion, has these issues that he was having this weekend, this is not down to not driving. Because he has driven the car," declared Mike Krack, Aston Martin team principal, after the Australian Grand Prix. "This is something that we need to really look at what car we provide him, what feedback he gets from the car. A driver of that class, we really need to check what tool we are giving him."

However, Sebastian is one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, so even though the car is very tricky and unbalanced, some mistakes are unforgivable for such a talented man.

Aston Martin Racing will consider making their own F1 power units
Photo: Aston Martin F1 Team / Twitter
That said, Vettel was one of the loudest critics of the new V6 hybrid, primarily because he loved the sound of the old V8 and V10 engines. Maybe the Mercedes domination for eight years had something to do with that too. He said that he is very excited about the new regulations brought by Formula One.

But, due to having one of the worst cars this season and barely making it out of Q1, the German is losing interest quite fast. And it came like a blow because the British manufacturer was one of the first teams to stop upgrading the 2021 car to fully concentrate on the developments for the 2022 vehicle.

"I had a while now in the sport, and I had hood years and not so good years, but mostly, I would say good years, great years with a very competitive car and competitive team. Having had the path that I had so far, I'm mostly interested in winning. And that will determine what the future brings," said Sebastian Vettel before the start of the 2022 Formula One season.

Vettel to miss BahrainGP\-3
Photo: Aston Martin F1
Aston Martin indeed has a long-term plan, more precisely a five-year one, with team owner Lawrence Stroll investing hundreds of millions of dollars in new headquarters and facilities. But you need to understand that Sebastian will be 35 this summer, so he doesn't have time to wait. From the beginning, it is a known fact that his biggest wish was to match Michael Schumacher's seven world titles, and with "only" four now, Vettel's time is very limited.

With no sign of improving in the short term, it seems Sebastian is more likely to exit F1 than staying for more painful years. As a replacement, Nico Hulkenberg could be a good one, but he is no longer young either. As a result, Aston Martin could bring a young talent next to Lance Stroll to match their future plans.

We still have 20 races to go this season, so let's see how things will evolve for the British team.
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About the author: Silvian Irimia
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Silvian may be the youngest member of our team, being born in the 2000s, but you won't find someone more passionate than him when it comes to motorsport. An automotive engineer by trade, Silvian considers the Ferrari F50 his favorite car, with the original Lamborghini Countach a close second.
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