Sebastian Vettel says the ambition of Aston Martin to become a top team in Formula 1 was the main motivator for his decision to join in 2021.
The four-time world champion, who’s exit from Ferrari after this season was announced back in May, confirmed at Mugello he would be replacing Sergio Perez at the current Racing Point team for their new era under the identity of the famous British sportscar maker.
Since then, the reaction has been largely positive, with the team itself seeing Vettel’s arrival as a chance for him to refind his “mojo” following several tough years at Ferrari.
And the 33-year-old admits Aston Martin offered exactly what he was looking for as a next step.
“Those boxes were quite easy to tick in terms of the performance, the racing side of things, where the team is, where the team might be, the potential and so on,” he said on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast.
“But more so I think it was the mindset and the will to really do something and do something good, bring something good together. It sounds like a fun project and ultimately something I wanted to be part of.
“It is very different to Ferrari,” added Vettel. “Racing Point as it stands today is the future Aston Martin. It will be growing. A lot of things are happening for the first time and I think it’s an incredible, challenging journey for the whole team.
“Me joining, I hope I can contribute a lot of things and do good in the car and out of the car.”
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Then on Thursday, ahead of the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, Seb confirmed his commitment to his employers goes beyond just an F1 race seat.
“Everybody is free to do what they want with their money, Aston Martin is a public company and everyone is free to invest in the company,” he said.
“If you’re asking if I have shares in the company? I have. How much? I think it’s a secondary thing which I won’t talk about.
“I believe in the project. I decided to go with the project and I am excited to see what happens when we kick off next year and I am starting for a new team.”