Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has credited Sebastian Vettel’s involvement with the team to their 2023 successes.
Aston Martin ended the 2022 season 7th in the constructor’s standings with 55 points, and after three races in 2023, the team has jumped to third in the standings, already having amassed 65 points.
The team made a statement in pre-season testing and have continued to show purpose and intent with Fernando Alonso securing three consecutive third-place finishes to date.
Alonso’s partnership with Aston Martin has proven to be formidable, but Mike Krack has said that there is more to it than the two-time world champion’s affinity with the AMR23.
In fact, it is another world champion that Krack has given credit to for their rise to the front of the field. The newly-retired Sebastian Vettel.
Vettel retired at the end of the 2022 season, and his final year with the team saw him play a crucial role in the development of the car that Fernando Alonso has enjoyed great success.
“I think he has his merits in where the [AMR23] is today,” Krack told the media in Australia.
“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.”
Vettel joined Aston Martin in 2021, the year of the British team’s return to Formula 1 after 60 years.
“He brought a lot of energy, a lot of positiveness when he arrived,” Krack added.
“He [was] leading by example at all times. He’s there early, he’s working really hard and it is this leading by example that everybody just sees and grabs on and gives an extra level of motivation.”
Following a pre-season injury for Lance Stroll, Krack admitted that Vettel was ‘100%’ considered to stand in if the Canadian wasn’t fit to race in the Bahrain opener.
Now, the four-time champion watches on as a spectator but seems at peace with his decision to retire.
“I’m currently following it as a spectator – with a lot of insider knowledge of the last few years,” Vettel told Auto Bild.
“At the moment I’m doing well in my new situation and I’m looking forward to pursuing things that interest me and immersing myself in different topics,”
“I’m enjoying time at home with the kids and family. I’m gathering a lot of ideas and drifting before anything more concrete comes out of it.”
Despite the praise of his former team principal, Vettel rejected the idea that his work with the team has helped propel Aston Martin’s current run of form.
“I don’t see it that way,” Vettel admitted.
“I have no regrets about stepping down. Of course it would be easier if the car wasn’t quite as good now, but that’s where the joy really outweighs the regret.
“Also for him [Alonso]. He had a few years where he didn’t have a good car and so maybe he’s having a second spring.
“Of course [there was] the work from last year, but there are quite a lot of people building a car like that and the more time goes by, the less I have to do with it.“
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