Aston Martin boss Mike Krack says he was "tempted" to ask Sebastian Vettel to make a Formula 1 comeback to replace Lance Stroll - but decided against it. Stroll was injured in a pre-season cycling accident, sustaining serious wrist injuries that ruled him out of pre-season testing and put his participation in doubt for the Bahrain opener. He ultimately returned, but before this was announced, Krack did not deny that he had spoken to four-time World Champion Vettel who retired at the end of the 2022 season. And Krack has now explained that he did think about the idea of asking the German to come back, but decided to follow Vettel's wishes.
Krack 'tempted' over Vettel comeback
"[I was] tempted, yes, 100%," Krack explained on the F1 Nation podcast when asked if he did consider asking the 53-time Grand Prix winner to return. "But we didn't do it because we have such high respect for Sebastian, and with the decision he made [to retire], I think it would not have been correct to ask. "We wanted to respect where he was and we didn't want to put him in a difficult position." Krack went onto say that Vettel had been in contact with the team to congratulate them on their podiums to start the 2023 season. "We have been in touch, we were in touch for the new year obviously but then also Sebastian was Sebastian like: congratulating us, very gentleman-like on our first podium in Bahrain," he said. "We said to him: 'This is also your merit' because he brought us really one step up over the previous two years. "He brought us up in a lot of areas where we have learned and progressed a lot, so he certainly has his part in where we are now. "But he was comfortable with [the decision to retire.] "He was not regretting it because he was very conscious about his decision when it was made, and I think the respect between himself and the team and myself was really shown by this great moment of congratulating us. "It was really appreciated and I relayed it to the whole team."
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