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Red Bull's Helmut Marko claims Sebastian Vettel is not motivated by Aston Martin's lack of form. The German driver did not participate in the first two races of the season after contracting COVID-19.
Marko claims the four-time world champion should not have switched to Aston Martin at the end of 2020 but should have taken a year away from the sport instead. The team had a mediocre year in 2021 but has since fallen down the grid in 2022, with the car being much slower in comparison to its rivals.
Speaking of Sebastian Vettel's recent F1 campaign, Helmut Marko claims the driver lacks the motivation to improve due to his team's dismal form. The Austrian also claimed Vettel is capable of fighting for podiums, as was seen in Baku 2021. He said:
"First Aston Martin has to build a more competitive car. Because if you drive outside the points, then the motivation is not the greatest. You saw that in Baku, and he was also very quick in Monte Carlo [...] But where Aston Martin is at the moment, I don't think the motivation will be too great."
Sebastian Vettel to return to the grid for the F1 Australian Grand Prix
Four-time F1 world champion Vettel will return to the grid for the Australian Grand Prix next weekend, Aston Martin announced today. The German was reportedly declared fit to race, following a COVID-19 negative test.
Aston Martin released a statement, confirming his enrollment in the upcoming Grand Prix:
“We are pleased to confirm that Sebastian Vettel is now fit to race and will therefore line up alongside Lance Stroll in Melbourne to kick off his 2022 F1 season at the Australian Grand Prix.”
The German was replaced by Nico Hulkenberg in the first two races of the season, who failed to impress partly due to the British team's slow pace. Hulkenberg, along with Lance Stroll, failed to score points in the first two races, effectively killing the optimism the team had during their 2022 launch.
Colin Kolles, who led the team under their previous guises, claims the team's issues lie with Lawrence Stroll's style of management. He told Sport1:
“The fish always stinks from the head. I can see the racing team developing into nowhere. You have a team owner who thinks he is the team boss, who knows everything better and thinks he should put his son up front with all his might. For me, that is the completely wrong approach.”
Fans are hoping Sebastian Vettel is fit enough to keep up with the 2022 cars which are said to be considerably more difficult to drive. Catch the action as F1 returns to Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix.
