F1 Blog: who will replace Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin? Lawrence Stroll can’t be too choosy, what about Hülkenberg?

Comment: Following Sebastian Vettel’s announcement that he will retire as a Formula 1 driver after this season, speculation has naturally been rife about who will replace him at Aston Martin. Why is it likely to be none of the current drivers? And who could be heading to Aston?

Who will replace Vettel at Aston Martin? Or perhaps better still, who will want to head to Lawrence Stroll and co at the moment, when Aston Martin is not in the best of shape either economically, let alone racing-wise.

Aston Martin is the worst team in F1 this season, having missed the concept of the new era of F1 in a pretty brutal way. As many experts have already suggested, their car simply doesn’t run and suffers from many problems.

These are mainly related to understeer, poor handling, lack of cornering downforce and we could probably go on. And the performance of the car and Aston Martin’s position in the grid is matched by the mood in the team.

Aston Martin itself has no concrete plan yet, as the team itself has recently stated that it is in their interest for Vettel to extend his contract. Which hasn’t and won’t happen, the German legend will retire after the season.

In terms of a potential incoming driver, someone to fill Aston’s marketing efforts also needs to be considered. And also who to sit next to Lance Stroll.

Hülkenberg’s return?

Aston Martin would thus need a driver who is experienced and can drive on points. In short, a driver with a winning mentality. Almost immediately, there was speculation about bringing in a reserve driver. That name is Nico Hülkenberg.

And at the moment it seems like the most logical choice, because none of the drivers who already have a place in F1 will simply and easily go to Aston. Or at least it’s very hard to imagine.

Furthermore, Hülkenberg has raced three times in Racing Point colours as a substitute in the 2020 season. This year, moreover, he represented Vettel in the opening two races of the season. He will also take part in a Pirelli test for Aston Martin in Hungary next week, which will give him valuable experience with the AMR22.

In Hülkenberg, Aston may find a quick replacement. Signing a 1-year deal won’t be a problem, as the German driver would probably be happy to get the opportunity at all while leaving the team free for the 2024 season.

Fernando Alonso speculation

In recent times, there has also been speculation about Alonso’s end at Alpino. At the time, of course, no one knew that Vettel would indeed retire at the end of the season, although as he himself noted he had this decision in his mind for a long time.

This speculation was that Alonso would head to Aston to make way for the young Oscar Piastri. But from my personal point of view, this potential transfer is one big nonsense. Yes, Aston would get a double world champion. And yes, Alonso would bring extensive technical knowledge to the team, as well as the marketing profile that Stroll needs at Aston.

But when we consider Alonso’s character in contrast to Lawrence Stroll’s actions, these considerations seem very misguided. And the second equally important factor is that Alonso still has the desire to win. He’s been working with Alpin on improvements to help the team get to the top, and by the very logic of the matter, this potential transfer simply doesn’t make sense.

Ricciardo, Albon, Schumacher

The list of drivers who are out of contract after the season is quite long. However, Daniel Ricciardo has already confirmed that he will continue to drive for McLaren next season. Although there is still speculation surrounding the involvement of Colton Herta. If McLaren were to make that move, Ricciardo would probably not have many options left. Of course, given the performance he’s put in not just this year, but last year.

There is a question mark hanging over Alex Albon, but he has been driving solidly at Williams and if anyone is going to leave that stable, I don’t think it will be Albon. This is despite the fact that Canadian Latifi makes up part of the team’s budget.

What about Mick Schumacher? With all the drivers you have to take into account not only their driving qualities or what performance they give, but whether they are good enough to please Aston. After all, Aston Martin, led by Lawrence Stroll, can’t be too picky. And that’s because of all the above factors.

While Vettel will certainly back his protégé if necessary, it doesn’t make much sense in his case for two reasons. Firstly, Mick would almost cut his connection with Ferrari and find himself in a team that is very far from Ferrari indeed (Haas is based practically next door to Ferrari – ed.).

And secondly, he’s a driver who already needs to perform more steadily and drive on points. And although we can’t predict how strong Aston Martin will be next season, at the moment it simply looks like he will have a better chance of scoring points, and therefore a better seat, at Haas.

Hülkenberg is probably the most logical choice

We also can’t expect Piastri to arrive. Lawrence Stroll, with his ambitions, doesn’t engage the protégé of another team to train him, start working with him and then send him to former Aston boss Otmar Szafnauer.

So the most logical choice at the moment is to engage Hülkenberg, but we’ll see what Formula 1 eventually comes up with. It can come up with some truly unbelievable scenarios.

Sources: F1, Motorsport, Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team