For years Lawrence Stroll, the clothing magnate, was planning his entry as an owner into Formula 1 and rumors were cyclically coming out about possible acquisitions of troubled teams. The right opportunity came in August 2018, when the Canadian took over Force India, first creating the Racing Point, which joined the team Aston Martin F1 in 2021, after adding up a large share of the historic British brand. Stroll has always stated that he wants to aim for the world title, for example by investing in the new Silverstone headquarters and not skimping on the technical staff – in fact, there have been many arrivals from other teams – and on the driver side. Untouchable his son Lance, in 2021 the Canadian entrepreneur did not let the opportunity pass Vettel, convincing the German for two years after the conclusion of his adventure in Ferrari.
But if the expenses continue to be important, so were the results, which after the peak of 2020 with a car aesthetically very similar to the then dominant Mercedes, were decidedly disappointing both in 2021 and in 2022. With just 19 points collected in the first 12 races, Aston Martin is now penultimate among the builders, with only Williams behind him. In this scenario, Sebastian Vettel’s farewell to Formula 1 was finally inserted, who, despite the obvious difficulties, still managed to give the team two podiums. Lawrence Stroll had asked the four-time world champion to make a decision about his future before the summer break, in order to have time to find a possible replacement on the market. And so it happened and the choice to hang up the helmet, taken by the former Red Bull driver on Wednesday evening was first announced to the team and then to the world, through the video released on Instagram.
The first and most natural candidate for replacing the German may be his compatriot Nico Hulkenberg (34) who currently holds the role of third driver in the team and who in the last two years has raced 4 races with Aston Martin adding 10 points. The Emmerich am Rhein expert standard bearer is well known by the team for his recent and past history (he raced with Force India for five years) and will be on track for the 2023 tire tests in the next few days.
But if dad Stroll intends to replace Vettel with a champion of the same lineage, the right name could be that of Fernando Alonso (41), twice world champion and who has not yet renewed with the Alpine. The Spaniard and the French team have been discussing the extension of the agreement for some time, with the ‘ghost’ of Oscar Piastri (21) used to try to reduce the pilot’s contractual requests. In fact, Alonso did not hide the fact that he wanted to think on a two-year plan and in recent times there have been contacts with Aston Martin. The Asturian has not closed the door and Stroll could therefore take advantage of the market opportunity.
It is no mystery that the name of is circulating Mick Schumacher (23), taken in recent years under his own wing by Vettel and back from the first points in the world championship with Haas. The German has not yet formalized the renewal with the American team and explained that “have a job to do “ with the team headed by Steiner, although he added a sibylline “never say never”.
In the background Nyck De Vries (27), under contract with Mercedes – who powers the Aston Martin – and who would not be a first choice, despite the titles in F2 and Formula E, mostly due to the lack of experience in F1. Finally Daniel Ricciardo (33) yesterday reiterated that he has a solid contract with McLaren for 2023: the Australian could enter the list of eligible candidates only in the event of a sensational break with the historic English team.
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