ANALYSIS: How and why did Vettel dedicate its F1 future to Aston Martin?

A fist pump here and a paddock chat there – Sebastian Vettel and Racing Point owner Lawrence Stroll have been campaigning for a possible partnership from next season for several months. But on Wednesday, on the eve of the Tuscan Grand Prix, the last paperwork was done and the deal was closed: Vettel will actually switch to the renamed Aston Martin F1 team in 2021. So and why did the deal come together …

Stage 1: Vettel gets the chop from Ferrari

Vettel got a call that he hadn’t expected. His boss Mattia Binotto has some news, the German’s services were no longer needed beyond the end of this season. There was no discussion about the future, no contract on the table, just the simple fact that Vettel’s time at Ferrari was about to come to an end.

It surprised Vettel, which wasn’t ideal as his alternatives quickly ran out. McLaren chose Daniel Ricciardo while Renault lured Fernando Alonso back into F1. Mercedes kept Valtteri Bottas going, while Red Bull ruled out a shock return to the team with which he had won all four of its drivers’ four world championships.

Sebastian Vettel is moving to Aston Martin for 2021 and beyond.

Stage 2: A walk gets the conversation going

Even with Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll under contract there, Racing Point was the only realistic remaining option for Vettel – and owner Lawrence Stroll wasted little time talking to him about selling his vision for the team to the four-time champion Renamed Aston Martin for 2021.

Vettel was certainly interested. He listened, asked a lot of questions, then went away and thought about it. Subsequent conversations followed, but Vettel would not trigger a sudden reaction. He took the time to think about whether this was a medium term project he wanted to get involved with.

READ MORE: Vettel “knows how to win,” says Szafnauer when the link to Racing Point lingers

Stroll did not give up his hunt and even offered Vettel a contract for 2021, which he left with him. The billionaire wanted to make a letter of intent by signing Vettel for the team’s first season as Aston Martin. The fact that the UK automaker’s share price jumped when the news broke shows the impact a four-time world champion can have before even getting in the car – so he kept up his pursuit.

Vettel said he had carried out his “due diligence” and spoke several times with team boss Otmar Szafnauer, whom he has known for 10 years. Szafnauer said he viewed Vettel as a friend. The two of them caught up a few times this year, including of course the infamous run in Szafnauer’s Ferrari Pista to a gas station on the outskirts of Silverstone …

The owner of the racing point, Lawrence Stroll, and the team principal, Otmar Szafnauer, are both big fans of Vettel and have worked hard to find their husbands

Level 3: Vettel has to make a call

Vettel couldn’t decide whether to stay or go. If he stayed, he wanted a package that he could compete with and help develop. After eight races – nearly half the season – it became clear that Racing Point had a strong package, and with regulations stable from this year to the next (and the brake duct saga behind it), chances are they’ll be equally strong in 2021.

Coupled with the fact that Stroll is ready to open the checkbook to spend what it takes to make the car a real competitor in 2022 – the first with brand new tech regulations tied to a budget cap the attraction to Vettel’s heart is strong.

READ MORE: Sergio Perez announces he is leaving Racing Point in late 2020 in a shock announcement

Vettel isn’t done with F1 yet. His wish is still there. Even if his last season at Ferrari proves to be uncompetitive and cracks seem to show, Vettel does not let up. He’s still in the garage late into the day on race weekends, trying to help out with his mechanics wherever he can. He’s still having fun with them – as revealed when he made cardboard clippings of his colleagues at his own expense that were put in The Monza Grandstands for charity.

Knowing that the car has performed well this year, looks strong next year, and the team is well positioned due to its known ability to get the most out of a smaller budget, Vettel decided that this was the right move . He also knows Racing Point will support him and give him the support Ferrari had before Charles Leclerc joined.

Retirement – which he admits he was considering – could wait a little longer.

This year Sebastian Vettel will drive the Racing Point RP20s – next year he will drive a …

Level 4: The dominoes collapse

After the decision, Vettel called Stroll and accepted his offer. The team then went through the requests to sort the relevant documents. Stroll then called Perez to explain that his services were no longer needed and the two parties agreed on his contract.

With that done and dusted, it was clear to Perez to make the announcement himself while Racing Point got it all done late Wednesday night. Vettel signed on the dotted line last night. But they ran out of time to fix everything so that it could be released the same day as the executives involved – including Vettel and Stroll – were out at dinner, among other things.

So they decided to have a reveal on Thursday morning at 9 a.m. local time to make sure everything was released before the Grand Prix weekend in Tuscany began. It also meant that Perez and Vettel could be free to talk about it instead of having to be shy until an announcement was made.

Now that Vettel has confirmed his strategy for 2021, he can no longer be distracted by the stress of making future decisions and can enjoy his remaining time at Ferrari and get back into rhythm and groove before arriving at Aston Martin.