Aston Martin bosses have paid tribute to Sebastian Vettel following his decision to retire at the end of the 2022 season.
Aston Martin bosses have paid tribute to Sebastian Vettel following his decision to retire at the end of the 2022 season.
Following the four-time world champion's announcement, Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll said he had "made it clear" to Vettel that the team wanted him to stay, but that his decision is fully respected.
"I want to thank Sebastian from the bottom of my heart for the great job he has done for Aston over the last year and a half," Stroll said.
"We made it clear to him that we wanted him to continue with us next year, but at the end of the day he did what he feels is right for himself and his family, and of course we respect that."
"He has done some fantastic racing for us, and behind the scenes, his experience and knowledge with our engineers has been extremely valuable."
"He is one of the all-time greats of Formula 1 and it has been a privilege to be able to work with him."
"He will continue with us until the 2022 Abu Dhabi GP, which will be his 300th race. We will give him a fantastic farewell."
Mike Krack, who had previously worked with Vettel at BMW Sauber before the two reunited again at Aston Martin, also had high praise for the German.
"Sebastian is a super driver - fast, smart and strategic - and of course we will miss those qualities," Krack commented.
"However, we have all learned from him, and the knowledge we have gained working with him will continue to benefit our team long after he is gone."
"Aston Martin is a great project with unlimited potential, and the groundwork Sebastian did 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."