Sebastian Vettel remains the "ultimate professional" in Formula 1 his Aston Martin team believe, despite his upcoming retirement at the end of the season. Four-time World Champion Vettel announced he would stop racing in F1 at the end of the 2022 season just prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix, having driven full-time since 2008 with his debut coming in '07. After leaving Ferrari at the end of the 2020 season, Vettel signed with Aston Martin as it returned to F1 as a works outfit - and banked the team's first ever podium at the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix with second place. Despite preparing to call it quits after 15 years in F1, Vettel's Aston performance director Tom McCullough sees no difference in the 35-year-old's approach.
Vettel remains "ultimate professional"
"He's the ultimate professional really - so I'd say no to that," McCullough explained to media including RacingNews365.com when asked if the 53-time Grand Prix had changed his approach since the retirement announcement. "Maybe he's a little bit more relaxed in himself, but I wouldn't see that in the engineering office and the way he drives the car. "Sebastian is a bit of a machine really from a work side of things."
Vettel great for morale
Vettel was lured into Aston to be their 'big-name' signing ahead of the return to F1 as a team in its own right - with McCullough saying his impact has been greater than just on the engineering side. "Sebastian has been great fun to work with the last 18 months or so," said McCullough. "[He's] very thoughtful and very strong on the engineering side. "It has brought a lot to the team in how we operate and how we look at things. "[He has a] very inquisitive mind, [is] great fun to be with, but [he] also understands lifting the team from a morale side of things really well. "It's been an utter pleasure with him, and I'm looking forward to the final few races with him." Vettel will be replaced at Aston Martin in 2023 by old rival Fernando Alonso, who jumped ship from Alpine to pen a two-year deal to partner Lance Stroll.
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