A midfield team hoping to fight for the championship is Aston Martin. The iconic brand re-entered F1 in 2021 after 6 decades of absence. The new owner of the Force India team – Lawrence Stroll, has been quite bullish about the team’s potential. Ever so bullish that the Canadian billionaire once hoped to lure 7X World champion Lewis Hamilton to the Silverstone outfit.
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Lawrence Stroll bought the Force India team under administration in mid-2018. He renamed the outfit to Racing Point in due course. While the team did well in the first 2 seasons, Stroll rebranded it as Aston Martin for the 2021 season.
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Having already signed 4-time champion Sebastian Vettel, Stroll was set to take the iconic British brand back to F1. Though this was the time when Lewis Hamilton was on an expiring contract, having signed just a one-year extension on his Mercedes deal.
LE CASTELLET, FRANCE – Owner of Racing Point Lawrence Stroll and Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal and Chief Executive Officer of Racing Point walks in the Paddock before final practice for the F1 Grand Prix of France at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images)
With Hamilton’s contract expiring at the end of 2021, Stroll expressed his interest in the Briton. As per the Independent, he said, “It is definitely tempting [to sign Lewis Hamilton]. Lewis in any car is great, and I am sure everyone would say yes because he is a seven-time world champion. But right now, I am extremely focused on getting started this year [2021].”
Though Hamilton later signed up for a new 2-year deal at Mercedes later in 2021, it would have been a dream line-up of Vettel and Hamilton for many fans. Perhaps an all world champion lineup was what Aston Martin needed to flip their F1 fate.
DIVE DEEPER
We often see teams interested in top drivers in the silly season of F1. Just as a top driver might be available, the dynamic of the paddock shifts drastically.
When Lewis Hamilton may have been teammates with Sebastian Vettel
There have been several moments in the past when Lewis Hamilton could have ended up as a teammate with Sebastian Vettel. The duo has shared a frenemy relationship, fighting for titles over the years.
The first instance of their possible team-up was back in 2012 when Lewis was looking to get away from McLaren after 4 seasons without a championship. There were rumors in the paddock that Red Bull might sign up the Briton.
Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Saturday 9 May 2015.
Niki Lauda, Non-Executive Chairman, Mercedes AMG, with Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG.
Courtesy: Getty
Hamilton did have talks with the bosses at Milton Keynes, but eventually it did not go through. The late Niki Lauda convinced Lewis to trust in the Mercedes project and the rest is history. Though the 3-time champion Lauda also may have lured Vettel to the Silver Arrows.
When Vettel shifted to Ferrari in 2015, they were in a rebuilding phase. The German driver always dreamed of being a champion with Ferrari, though at that point Mercedes was the team to beat.
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Vettel mentioned on a Beyond the Grid Podcast that he spoke with Lauda about a seat on the Brackley team. But he stated that the talks never materialized into anything serious. Yet he would have been excited for driving alongside his rival Lewis.
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Watch This Story: Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso – Last Men Standing as Sebastian Vettel’s Exit marks the end of an Iconic F1 era
Despite not being teammates, Vettel and Hamilton have given us memorable moments in F1. Some good, some controversial, yet they are one of the most respectable rivals in the sport. Tell us who is your fantasy teammate for either Hamilton or Vettel.
