Mike Krack, Aston Martin’s Team Principal, credited their former retired driver Sebastian Vettel for the team’s improved form in 2023, revealing the German gave them hints on what and what not to do.
Sebastian Vettel, a four-time Formula 1 Champion, took the decision to retire from the sport after two underwhelming seasons with Aston Martin whom he joined from Ferrari for the 2021 season, and despite grabbing a podium for the team in Baku on his debut season with them, 2022 turned out to be a tough campaign as the team’s AMR22 was a flop, and Vettel ended up being 12th in the Drivers’ Championship before he bowed out.
In 2023 however, Aston Martin have got their sums right with the AMR23, a handy piece of kit and a good all-rounder that Fernando Alonso, Vettel’s replacement in the team, has used to deliver three podiums in the first three races of this F1 season.
With how good things seem to be going for Aston Martin, many felt it was a shame that Vettel retired before he enjoyed the fruits of his work in the team, some even questioning if he retired a tad too early.
Vettel has his merits in where Aston Martin are today
Speaking to the media in Melbourne, over the course of the 2023 Australian Grand Prix weekend, Mike Krack was asked about this point.
“Well, if you’ve retired too early or too late, that is something you have to ask himself,” he said. “I think he has his merits in where the car is today, because we had many, many meetings last year where he gave us a hint: do this or do that or do not do this with the new car.
“So I think he has his merits in here,” Krack went on. “And then we have to respect the decision that he took, he reflected for a long time before he made that decision and when he made it and if we have to move on, and he has to move on.
“And if it’s a shame for him, yes or no, this, I think you should ask him,” the Luxembourgish engineer concluded.