F1 News

'Schumacher top of Aston Martin's list to succeed Vettel'

'Schumacher top of Aston Martin's list to succeed Vettel'

27-05-2022 07:00 Last update: 08:52
3

GPblog.com

Aston Martin is taking into account that Sebastian Vettel will leave the team at the end of 2022, so the team is already looking around. According to the Italian branch of Motorsport.com Mick Schumacher is at the top of the candidate list.

The performance of Aston Martin in 2022 is disappointing. Lawrence Stroll's formation had hoped to attack the top teams with the new regulations but has fallen back. This would also cause doubts about the future of Vettel, who has an expiring contract. The German has made no secret of the fact that he only wants to drive in F1 if he has a competitive car.

Schumacher candidate number one

Aston Martin itself denies this, but the Italian medium is able to report that with Schumacher there is a surprising name at the top of the list as a replacement. Schumacher does not have the reputation that Vettel has with his four world titles, nor the experience to lead a team. Yet Aston Martin sees potential in the young German.

For Aston Martin, the European market is important and that is why Vettel was chosen. He had to bring the British brand back to the attention of Europe, especially Germany which was seen as the most important country for the delivery of cars. However, that effect was (possibly due to the disappointing performance in F1) disappointing.

Alonso as an alternative

Nevertheless, with Schumacher, Aston Martin is once again betting on a German driver in order to get that market truly interested in the brand's cars. Schumacher is fixed at the Ferrari training, but within that training Ferrari only has a spot for Mick at Haas. Aston Martin may be more interesting as a brand.

The other option would be Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard, with his two world titles, years of F1 experience and huge support base in Spain, also meets Lawrence Stroll's wishes, but Alonso will first wait and see the current situation at Alpine. The French team is in a better position in the championship, but Alonso and Oscar Piastri it has two options for the seat next to Esteban Ocon in 2023.