Vettel not jealous of Alonso's success at Aston Martin: 'Happy for him'

No Sebastian Vettel on the grid in 2023 for the first time in a long time. The four-time world champion left Aston Martin Racing last year and hung up his racing helmet. Just when Aston Martin could be fighting for podiums again. Speaking to The Red Bulletin, the German talks about how he experienced the first half of the season from the sidelines.

Vettel still follows Formula 1 closely. "Very much so! The first race was a bit strange, but now I enjoy watching it. I know the sport inside out, I still love it. Maybe I see certain things differently, but I don't have the feeling of sadness when I watch the ex-colleagues, not at all," he said.

For two years Vettel drove for Aston Martin and once he took a podium, in the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It may also have been a bit more luck than wisdom, because otherwise the British racing stable's performances were nothing special. Twice, the formation finished seventh in the constructors' world championship.

Old team Vettel doing well

This year, there have already been six podium finishes for the AMR23 of Vettel's replacement Fernando Alonso. He is not jealous of that, the 53-time Grand Prix winner is mostly happy for his old team and all the staff he himself worked with for two seasons.

"The first reaction from many people was: the fact that the Aston Martin is so fast this season must be getting to you by now, right? OK, maybe it would be easier if the car was totally worthless, in the sense of: I'm not missing anything anyway. But no, I'm mostly happy for the team. And I'm happy for Fernando Alonso. For years he didn't have a car in which he could show off his driving skills. Now he can and he is at the front," Vettel said. "Red Bull Racing dominates and I still have a lot of friends and acquaintances there. I am very happy when they win."