Sebastian Vettel: Who will replace German at Aston Martin?

Sebastian Vettel’s retirement from F1 has come as a shock not only to us fans but reportedly to Aston Martin too!

Team owner Lawrence Stroll was apparently confident of contract extension talks with Vettel proceeding smoothly, with team principal Mike Krack having previously revealed that there was no backup plan should the Silverstone-based team not re-sign the German for another season.

So, with no academy programme currently present under Aston Martin, the speculation has already begun regarding who will fill Vettel’s vacant seat in the Aston Martin car next season.

Planet F1 have come up with their shortlist of five candidates who they think are most likely to replace the four-time world champion, so let’s take a look!

Fernando Alonso

A pretty straight swap for the retiring Vettel is the fellow racing legend and veteran Fernando Alonso. Another experienced grandmaster of motorsport who could provide a great influence on teammate and owner’s son Lance Stroll with his knowledge of the sport. He was even considered instead of Vettel before the team signed the German.

However, Alonso can be known to be self-interested and disruptive, which would not be welcomed as a teammate of Stroll.

Alpine may also welcome the move, allowing them to introduce their hot prospect Oscar Piastri into the team to work alongside Esteban Ocon.

Daniel Ricciardo

While not quite boasting the racing portfolio of Fernando Alonso, Ricciardo is another experienced driver and useful marketing tool for any F1 team. The victor of last year’s Italian Grand Prix, however, has not impressed, to say the least, at McLaren this season and shows little sign of putting up a fight to recover his situation.

Pierre Gasly

Vastly different to Alonso and Ricciardo