Aston Martin confesses: 'Yes, we were thinking of Vettel's comeback in Bahrain'

Lance Stroll came close to missing the opening race of the season in Bahrain. The Aston Martin F1 Canadian needed surgery on his wrist after his cycling accident but proved fit just in time for the Grand Prix. Had Stroll not been able to drive, Felipe Drugovich would have been his replacement.

The test and reserve driver from Brazil had finally become the man, after days of speculation about who might replace Stroll. Sebastian Vettel's name was also dropped. The German drove for Aston Martin for the previous two seasons and put an end to his long career in Abu Dhabi 2022.

Much respect for Vettel

In the podcast, F1 Nation confesses Mike Krack thought about asking Vettel to step in as Stroll's replacement: "Tempted? Yes, 100%. But we didn’t do it, because we have such a high respect for Sebastian and his decision that he made at the time. I think it would not have been correct even to ask. We wanted to respect the way he was, and we didn’t want to put him in any difficult position.”

Krack says he is still in touch with Vettel, who congratulated his old team after his successor Fernando Alonso's podium finish in Bahrain. According to Krack, it is partly thanks to the German former world champion that Aston Martin is currently having a great season.