‘Aston Martin pushed Vettel to decide after speaking with Alonso’

Sebastian Vettel’s retirement announcement  came after Aston Martin ‘requested’ he make a decision before the summer break as the team had already been in talks with Fernando Alonso for a ‘few weeks’.

Alonso makes shock Aston Martin move

Another day, another Ferrari disaster

Are Mercedes really here to stay?

Several candidates for a Williams seat

Why Alonso being at Aston Martin will work out well

Verstappen laughing all the way to a 2nd title

Alonso at Aston Martin could be ‘fabulous’ for both parties

That’s according to a report from Auto Motor und Sport.

Vettel announced last Thursday that this season would be his last in Formula 1, the decision surprising many in the paddock.

It was thought that it also surprised Aston Martin as team boss Mike Krack said they did not have a “Plan B” in mind should Vettel opt not to continue.

But, according to AMuS’s Tobias Gruner, it was with that Plan B in mind that Aston Martin urged Vettel to make a quick decision.

According to the respected F1 journalist, the “negotiations between the team and the driver [Alonso] have apparently been taking place in the past few weeks”.

Keen to secure the Spaniard’s signature before Alpine, trying to sweeten their one-year offer with a future drive in Le Mans, Aston Martin pressed Vettel to make a decision before Formula 1 headed off for its summer break.

“That’s why Aston Martin recently approached Vettel with a request to make a decision about his future before the summer break,” Gruner said.

The rest, as they say, is history.

“Team owner Lawrence Stroll met with Alonso in the Aston Martin motorhome in Hungary on Saturday,” he continued, “where the new contract was apparently sealed.”

Makes you think #F1 pic.twitter.com/ms7o5Alwot

— PlanetF1