F1, Vettel: “Aston Martin challenges from the top. Retirement? It was close”

“Well, thank you for the many questions!” The joke with a high level of irony (and a bit of acidity) with which Charles Leclerc said goodbye to the press conference of the Tuscan GP Ferrari 1000 betrayed the atmosphere a bit in the house of the Cavallino, already is in technical difficulty for well-known reasons and today, on the opening day of the weekend in which the redhead celebrates her GP 1000 in F1 at her track, she has seen the incorporation of a More media involvement: everyone’s attention is not focused on Ferrari’s historic goal, but was entirely catalyzed by the announcement come in at 9am, the move from Sebastian Vettel to Aston Martin in 2021. All press conference questions are so stay for Seb. Charles was obviously asked about his health after the accident at the Parabolica (“All good thanks”) and his expectations for this weekend (“I hope it is better than the last two races, in theory it is a p is a little different “). Stop. After all, “revenge” is a dish served cold …

Shoe pebble

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Vettel also took some pebbles out of his shoes: “I can’t wait to start this new challenge where I see a lot of potential – said the German – I’m going to a team where it will be possible to fight for the top positions on the grid. So many things make me optimistic, even being part of the Mercedes family, only time will tell what we can achieve. I thought it was the right time to make the announcement, especially after yesterday’s Checo (Pérez; ed.) ”.

Exciting Aston

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Sebastián did not hide that he was very close to retirement: “How close? I don’t know the size, but I was close – he said – I think it’s the right choice, the recent performance of the team has affected, especially the latest developments and results. Now I am at Ferrari and we have an important weekend ahead for which I will do the best I can. But certainly the return to F1 of a brand like Aston Martin is exciting and it is good to be part of it to make them grow, help them with my experience and make them competitive on the grid, it is my hope and confidence in this team. I wanted to continue in a team with the potential to do well in F1 and I think I’ve found it, there is potential and it’s exciting, I can’t wait to show this quality and get results.

Love for Ferrari

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In the end they asked him if by chance the love between him and Ferrari has not waned in the last year. Seb responded with class, like a “media winner” of the day: “I came to Ferrari to win the championship, not just the races and that’s why from this point of view it failed. I have met people who are now friends probably for life, but I have no regrets. Of course, Ferrari is a special place, it was the team that I was looking at because it was looking at Michael (Schumacher; ed), we did good and less good things and now just for me and for them it was time to turn the page ”.

Leclerc speaks

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And Leclerc? The Monegasque hopes that Ferrari will recover soon: “Compared with the last years, I am struggling a lot, the team is also struggling. But it is in the most difficult moments where you learn the most – he said – I have a long-term contract and the commitment is to make sure I get out of it as soon as possible, but I have to be honest, driving a Ferrari is a motivation. plus”.